Mayor Cortes to enforce dismissal of engineers
THE Mandaue city government will enforce the dismissal order issued by the Ombudsman-Visayas against three engineering officials implicated in the overpriced purchase of decorative lampposts in 2007.
Mayor Jonas Cortes said he will enforce the order as soon as his office receives a copy of the Court of Appeals ruling affirming the Ombudsman order.
Provincial Board (PB) member Thadeo Ouano decried the order, saying it was “an injustice.”
Ouano was among those covered by the decision due to his tenure as Mandaue City mayor in 2007.
However, Ouano was spared the administrative penalty after he was elected PB member in 2010.
Lawyer Victor Maambong, Ouano’s counsel, cited the Aguinaldo doctrine, which exempts a reelected public official of administrative liability for misconduct committed during a previous term since election is deemed a condonation of the past acts.
Article continues after this advertisementOuano said he sympathizes with the engineers, who were dismissed as a result of the case.
Article continues after this advertisementOf the 29 regular employees in the Mandaue City Engineer’s Office (CEO), engineers Gregorio Omo, Hidelisa Latonio and Mario Gerolag were ordered dismissed from service.
Ouano lamented that the lampposts were a national project and involved higher-ranking officials not included in the filing of charges, like former Public Works and Highways secretary Hermogenes Ebdane.
He said he and the Mandaue City only assisted in the project and were not involved in the signing of the contract, public bidding, awarding of the project and its payment.
The decorative lampposts that were used during the 2007 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Cebu were found to be overpriced by nearly 10 times.
Mayor Cortes said while he respects the court’s order, they will give “the employee-respondents all the chance to exhaust any legal remedy available to them.”
City Administrator James Abadia said their workforce will be affected since Omo was one of the oldest engineers in the city.
But he said they will do their best to make up for the shortage.
Since they haven’t received any order yet, the three employees will continue to work in the CEO.
“We only have five days to implement it and the workers could file a temporary restraining order and we’ll respect it,” Abadia said.
The three engineers were among the 14 public officials who were found administratively guilty for the installation and purchase of 1,800 decorative lampposts.
Asst. Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago said Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson, Mayor Cortes and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza should enforce the order immediately.
Ordered dismissed were Robert Lala, Gloria Dindin, Marlina Alvizo, Pureza Fernandez, Cresencio Bagolor, Augustinito Hermoso, Luis Galang, and Restitutu Diano and Buenaventura Pajo, all from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Also included were Julito Cuizon and Rogelio Veloso of Lapu-Lapu City.
The Ombudsman-Visayas ordered the forfeiture of benefits of all the respondents, including those who may have retired from service.
Rosalina Denque, an engineer of Mandaue City, was found guilty of neglect of duty and was meted a six-month suspension without pay.
Last August, the Court of Appeals (CA) 19th division in Cebu City dismissed the petition that sought the reversal of the anti-graft office’s order dismissing them from service.
Eight of the respondents filed a Motion for Extension to File Petition for Review last Aug. 2, 2011, which was the last day for filing of that pleading.
But the appellate court dismissed their pleading. In an interview yesterday, lawyer Joey Luis Wee said they had filed a motion for reconsideration.
“I believe the CA will be reasonable enough and see what is right after considering our motion for reconsideration and petition, which was filed within the requested period,” said Wee.
