The Office of the Ombudsman (File photo by NINO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA — Bulusan, Sorsogon Mayor Michael Guysayko has been charged at the Sandiganbayan for allegedly failing to remit the Government Service Insurance System contributions of municipal employees from 2010 to 2011.
The Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor filed criminal cases against Guysayko and three other municipal officials for 10 counts of violation of Section 52 (g) of the GSIS Act of 1997.
The officials were accused of failing to remit a total of P2,339,199.14 in premium contributions within 30 days of becoming due and demandable.
Contributions not remitted on time were broken down as follows: P212,585.01 for July 2010, P209,425.05 for August 2010, P208,284.09 for September 2010, P236,186.68 each for October, November and December 2010, P241,221.68 for April 2011, and P253,041.09 each for May, June and July 2011.
The alleged failure to remit the contributions on time led to damage and prejudice to the municipality’s employees as well as the GSIS and the government service, the charge sheets read.
Charged alongside Guysayko were municipal treasurer Jasmin Garcia, municipal accountant Ramon Belleza, and municipal budget officer Marieta Negrite. Prosecutors recommended that bail be set at P100,000 for each accused.
Section 6(b) of the GSIS Act requires the payment of contributions within 10 days of the following month. Continued failure to remit the payments within the next 30 days is penalized under the said law. SFM