Quezon town mayor sacked for dismissing driver

Office of the Ombudsman. NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.net file photo

A mayor in Atimonan, Quezon got a taste of his own medicine when he was ordered dismissed from service for sacking his driver in 2010.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dismissed Mayor Jose Mendoza from service for gross neglect of duty and oppression for disobeying a Civil Service Commission (CSC) order.

He was meted out with the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from public office, cancelation of eligibility, bar from taking the civil service examinations, and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

According to the Ombudsman, Mendoza illegally dismissed his driver Romeo Parin in 2010.

Parin elevated his complaint to the CSC, which ruled in favor of him and granted Parin’s motion for execution in May 2013 to reinstate him to his position with back wages.

However, the order was only complied with last Sept. 2014, the Ombudsman said.

Morales said Mendoza “blatantly refused to reinstate complainant and to pay him back wages without justifiable reason.”

The Ombudsman added that “said act cannot be countenanced without running afoul of the established rule of actions of government officials and employees.”

“(R)espondent’s show of arrogance and persistent disregard of lawful orders of a constitutional body continued while serving anew as mayor of Atimonan,” Morales added.

The Ombudsman directed Interior Sec. Mel Senen Sarmiento to implement the dismissal. RAM