Iloilo mayor charged in late remittance of contributions

State prosecutors have formally charged San Enrique, Iloilo Mayor Rosario Mediatrix Fernandez at the Sandiganbayan for allegedly failing to remit P5.96 million in employee contributions to the state pension and housing funds on time.

Fernandez and municipal treasurer Imelda Celebrar stand trial for 16 counts of violating Section 52(g) of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Act of 1997 and 11 counts of violating Section 3(a), Rule VII in relation to Section 1, Rule XII of the implementing rules and regulations of the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) Law of 2009.

The Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor accused Fernandez and Celebrar of failing to remit a total of P5.34 million to the GSIS “within 30 days from the time they became due and demandable.”

GSIS contributions that were not paid right away covered the months of January to October 2011, April 2012, and June to October 2012.

The two officials also failed to remit on time a total of P620,000 to the HDMF, popularly known as Pag-Ibig. The contributions should have been remitted “within 30 days from the time they became due and demandable.”