Erice defends posting of 3 new employees

Caloocan  City Vice Mayor Edgar Erice  on Tuesday defended his appointment of three city hall employees, saying he had the authority to fill up vacancies in his office, the city council and the city council secretariat   under the law.

Charges of falsification of public documents, dishonesty and grave misconduct had been  filed in the Office of the Ombudsman against Erice recently  by Russel Ramirez, city administrator; Kristine Abustan, secretary to the mayor; and Jesusa Garcia, budget officer.

The three  said they filed the complaint after Erice approved the appointment of Eugene Lazir Mangaliman, Ma. Pilar Afan and Rosemarie Angeles as audio visual equipment operator III, clerk II and store keeper I, respectively, of the city council, before being approved by  the Caloocan City Personnel Selection Board (CCPSB) under a Civil Service Commission rule.

According to the complainants, the appointment papers  signed by Erice said that Mangaliman, Afan and Angeles had been screened by the CCPSB, when this had not been the case.

“I only exercised the power vested in me by RA 7160 and approved the appointment of the concerned employees after their applications were carefully assessed and endorsed to my office,” Erice said.

He said  he tried to convene the CCPSB on at least three occasions, but none of its members showed up.

The CCPSB’s role was “merely to assist the appointing authority in the assessment of the applications,” Erice said, adding that   the members’ “unjustified absence despite due notice” was deemed “a waiver on their part to participate in the proceedings.”

He said  the CCPSB had been “failing to perform its duty” because it sat on appointments submitted to them since 2004, resulting in an absence of promotions or appointments.