Maguindanao mayor shows report as proof of action vs DILG complaint
MANILA, Philippines — The mayor of Buluan, Maguindanao on Thursday said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) should “diligently” check regional reports after the agency filed an administrative complaint against him over alleged violation of quarantine protocols.
“I do additionally want to say that I hope the DILG diligently check the reports per region,” Buluan Mayor Babydats Mangudadatu said via Facebook messenger when asked about the DILG’s complaint against him over alleged mass gatherings in their municipality.
Earlier, the DILG said it filed an administrative case against Mangudadatu before the Ombudsman due to mass gatherings which violated physical distancing during the strict community quarantine.
Posted by Babydats D. Mangudadatu on Thursday, July 23, 2020
Letters to DILG
The Buluan government wrote a first letter dated April 4 which states that they have verified a congregational prayer (Friday prayer) was held last April 3 at a mosque in Barangay Poblacion.
The local government said they “sternly warned” the barangay officials involved in the organization of prayer.
The letter also states that LGU will impose “stiffer sanctions or penalties” against the party involved in the social gathering in the area will be repeated.
In another letter dated April 15, the local government positively confirmed the mass gathering incident at a pawnshop and money remittance center which happened last April 13.
The local government said they “sternly warned” the branch heads of the money remittance centers and were given the “final warning that failure to make strategies on the strict implementation of social distancing shall be dealt with temporary closure of the branch.”
The April 4 and April 15 letters were addressed to Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo of Ministry of Interior and Local Government at Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
The third letter dated July 3, which was received by DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III, the local government reiterated its statement on the April 4 and April 15 letters that it has given stern warnings to those involved in the mass gatherings.
