Camarines Norte gov’s lawyer slams case revival

NAGA CITY—The legal counsel of Camarines Norte Gov. Edgardo A. Tallado has slammed the Office of the Ombudsman for resurrecting a case against the governor that was dismissed by the same body last year.

Lawyer Adan Botor, Tallado’s lawyer, believed the case, along with the subsequent order of the Ombudsman to suspend Tallado for one year, is being used for political purposes.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales announced on Thursday that Tallado was suspended after finding him guilty of oppression and grave abuse of authority for refusing to comply with the Civil Service Commission order to reinstate provincial veterinarian Edgardo Gonzales in November 2013.

Botor said the same case had been dismissed on March 24, 2014, by the Office of the Ombudsman.

They filed a motion for reconsideration (MR) on Oct. 19, as they were not given a chance to respond to the MR that Gonzales had earlier submitted to the Ombudsman, he added.

Gonzales filed the MR after the Ombudsman dismissed the case in March 2014.

Botor said the Ombudsman should not have entertained the MR filed by Gonzales since the decision to dismiss the case should have become executory and could no longer be subject to an appeal.

Sought for comment, Tallado declined to discuss the case as he had yet to receive a copy of the suspension order.

Camarines Norte Vice Gov. Jonah Pimentel said they were baffled by the way the Ombudsman acted on Tallado’s case.

Pimentel noted that it took almost six months for Morales to sign the dismissal of Tallado’s case last year after it was submitted by the special prosecutor.

“But in deciding the suspension of Governor Tallado, it was signed by the special prosecutor on Oct. 2 and signed in the same date by Ombudsman Morales,” he said.

Tallado was a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) since 2007 until he was dropped from the roll last June for “gross immoral act” after he was embroiled in an extramarital scandal last year. The complaint was lodged by LP stalwart, Daet Mayor Tito Sarion.

Followers of Tallado, who comprised the majority of the LP chapter in Camarines Norte, protested by taking a mass leave of absence from LP. Tallado and his allies recently took oath as members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition.