CA stops Aklan gov’s dismissal

Florencio Miraflores

ILOILO CITY—The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores and his wife, former Mayor Lourdes Miraflores of Ibajay, also in Aklan, for failing to properly declare assets worth about P12.18 million in their statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) from 2001 to 2009.

The Court of Appeals (CA), however, issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the Department of the Interior and Local Government from enforcing the Ombudsman’s decision.

Reached for comment, Miraflores denied any wrongdoing.

“There was no deliberate intent to conceal properties or assets or commit grave misconduct or bad faith,” he told the Inquirer.

Rachel Cariaga-Favila, graft investigation and prosecution officer, issued the 19-page Ombudsman order on Aug. 15, 2016, which was approved by Overall Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Arthur Carandang on Jan. 25 this year.

The CA’s 16th Division promulgated the TRO on Feb. 27 in relation to a petition for review filed by the Miraflores couple. The order was penned by Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon and concurred with by Associate Justices Ricardo Rosario and Marie Christine Azcarraga-Jacob.

Condonation doctrine

In their petition, the couple invoked the condonation doctrine (also known as the Aguinaldo Doctrine), noting that the alleged offenses were committed in 2001 to 2009, but they were reelected in 2010.

The legal doctrine extinguishes administrative cases filed against any public official during the official’s previous term after the official’s reelection. The Supreme Court abandoned the doctrine in 2015, saying it was “rendered obsolete by the current legal regime.”

In an earlier Inquirer report, the high court’s information chief, Theodore Te, clarified that “the abandonment of the condonation doctrine should be prospective in application.”

Lourdes completed her third and last term as mayor in 2016, and was replaced by her son, Jose Enrique.

Miraflores also served as governor of the province from 1995 to 2004, and representative of the lone congressional district of Aklan from 2004 to 2013.

In ordering the dismissal of the couple, the Ombudsman cited undeclared, undervalued and overvalued assets, including P6,497,200 in shares of stock in Rural Bank of Ibajay, undeclared vehicles amounting to P708,400, and a property in Quezon City.

“The respondents failed to properly declare their net worths in their 2001-2009 SALNs and to prove that they have the financial capacity to accumulate their explained and unexplained wealth,” according to the Ombudsman.

It also said “the irregularities … were committed repeatedly and caused prejudice to [the] government.”

The antigraft office also imposed accessory penalties, including cancellation of civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from holding public office and from taking civil service examination.

If the decision is upheld, Lourdes would be imposed a fine equivalent to her salary for a year when she was in government service.

In their counteraffidavit, the couple said their total income should be placed at P12,132,519. They said they loaned P20 million to subsidize their living expenses and acquire assets.

Miraflores’ siblings also contributed to the purchase of the property in Quezon City, according to the counteraffidavit cited by the Ombudsman in its decision.

The respondents did not declare a Mazda pickup truck, Nissan Safari wagon and Kawasaki motorcycle even if these were registered to their names because these were already “owned, used and given” to people who had served their family for years.

They said the supposed irregularities in the computation of the value of their declared assets were due to confusion brought about by changes in the SALN forms.