The Office of the Ombudsman (File photo by NINO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The Office of the Ombudsman has approved the filing of graft charges against the mayor and vice-mayor of Lambunao, Iloilo, for receiving travel allowances in 2014 despite of the government-issued vehicles assigned to them.
There was probable cause to charge former Mayor Reynor Gonzales and incumbent Vice-Mayor Cesar Gonzales with violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, according to a statement issued by the Ombudsman media bureau on Wednesday.
The case arose from the Commission on Audit’s 2014 annual audit report flagging the release of P90,000 to Reynor and P83,880 to Cesar, despite of the provision under the Department of Budget and Management Circular No. 2013-103, which ordered the lifting of the entitlement of transportation allowance due to the officials’ government-issued vehicles.
Auditors also issued a notice of disallowance on the benefits, but Reynor only returned P40,400 to the government as shown by a June 21, 2016 notice of settlement. Meanwhile, Cesar did not show his compliance.
The Ombudsman said that “without the imprimatur of Reynor,” Cesar would not have been able to claim his travel allowance.
It cited the Supreme Court’s 1998 Domingo ruling that stated “the use of government motor vehicle and claim for transportation allowance are mutually exclusive and incompatible.” /jpv