Ombudsman suspends Bohol mayor over SALN issue

The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Bohol Mayor Danilo Guivencan for failing to state his wife’s business interests in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs).

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ombudsman said that the business interests and financial connections of Guivencan’s wife were nowhere to be found in his SALNs from 2010 to 2012.

For this, the Ombudsman found Guivencan guilty of simple neglect of duty and ordered his suspension for one month and one day.

“In his counter-affidavit, Guivencan claimed that he failed to pay attention to the details of his SALNs that were prepared by his office staff and further claimed that the business interests were already declared in his 2013 SALN,” the Ombudsman statement read.

“Respondent’s reliance on his personnel to fill out his SALN and signing the same without checking or verifying the completeness of the entries therein is a clear display of carelessness and failure to give proper attention to the task imposed by law,” it said in its decision.

The Ombudsman noted that Section 8 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (Republic Act No. 6713) requires all public officials and employees to accomplish a statement under oath showing their assets, liabilities and net worth and financial and business interests every year.

These should also include the financial and business interests of their spouses and of unmarried children under 18 years old living in their households, the Ombudsman stressed. /vvp