Bulacan city exec ‘faked’ attendance in local legislation training – UP-NCPAG

MANILA, Philippines – A councilor from San Jose Del Monte (SJDM) City in Bulacan has found himself in hot water after a research and training institute for local governments found out he faked his attendance in a training.

A letter from the University of the Philippines’ National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) showed that the Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG) decided to withhold the certificates of completion given to three councilors after finding out that SJDM Councilor Richard Robes never really showed up in the five-day training, and his son and namesake attended in his stead.

According to CLRG, Robes instructed his son, Barangay Kagawad Richard Maurice Robes III, to attend the introduction to Excellence in Local Legislation (iExcelL) training held from August 5 to 9 this year.

“(I)t is with great regret that our Center decided to withhold their Certificates of Completion given information that we received regarding the identity of the person who attended as Councilor Robes,” CLRG Director Dr. Erwin Alampay said in his letter addressed to SJDM Mayor Arturo Robes.

“On the last day of the course, it came to our attention that someone who identified himself as Councilor Robes, but was not Councilor Robes, was attending in his stead,” he added. “[…] We were able to establish that the person who claimed to be Councilor Robes was actually his son, Barangay Kagawad Richard Maurice Robes III.”

Alampay also mentioned that the younger Robes admitted that his father ordered him to attend the program in his place, while the two other SJDM councilors – Liezl Aguirre-Abat and Vanessa Michelle Roquero – correctly identified the attendee. The certificates of completion for Abat and Roquero were also withheld.

“We had explicitly mentioned in our course requirements and during the course briefing on the first day that only registered participants were allowed to attend the program and that no substitute is allowed,” Alampay noted.

“It is regrettable that this happened. The CLRG conducts training programs from a position of trust and presumes the trustworthiness of our participants. While the Center does not intend to pursue further action beyond withholding the certificate […] we feel that it is incumbent to inform your good office of this incident,” he added.

The iExcelL training, NCPAG said, is part of the Fundamentals of Good Local Governance, which was specifically designed for local legislators forming the city and municipal councils.

INQUIRER.net reached out to Councilor Richard Robes for his comment, but the SJDM official has not yet replied to our messages as of posting time. /kga