La Union mayor seeks recourse vs Ombudsman dismissal order

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, Philippines — Mayor Hermenegildo Gualberto said he would step down from his position after the office of the Ombudsman ordered his dismissal for the alleged misuse of the local government’s development fund to rehabilitate the City Plaza.

Gualberto was charged with grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and abuse of authority for supposedly allowing the use of P66,473,503 from the city’s 2017 and 2018 internal development fund to upgrade the plaza.

The case was filed on Jan. 28 last year by a village chief, Samuel Jacar, who said the mayor had no authorization from the city council to undertake the rehabilitation.

On April 15, the Ombudsman suspended Gualberto for six months for the same case.

Gualberto, however, was reelected for his second term in the May 2019 midterm elections while serving the suspension order.In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Gualberto on Tuesday said he respected the Ombudsman’s decision and he would leave his post.

No missing fund

“But this doesn’t mean that we agree with such quick litigation or that we are giving up on our fight because contrary to the allegations, we didn’t do anything wrong or inappropriate,”he said, adding that there was “no basis for these accusations. There’s no missing public fund.”

He said he would seek recourse with a higher court, “hoping for a fair and just examination [of the allegations].”

The Ombudsman’s order disallowed Gualberto from completing his second term and seeking a third term or other government positions.Backed by more than 40 other village chiefs in the city, Jacar’s complaint affidavit against Gualberto cited a 2018 report from the Commission on Audit (COA) showing that the City Plaza was rehabilitated using the city’s development fund.

The COA said rehabilitating the plaza “does not fall squarely within the context of the projects that may be funded out of the 20 percent [development fund].”