Asturias councilor files raps vs. VM, SK prexy

Criminal and administrative complaints have been filed against Asturias Vice Mayor Alexander Agravante and Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Lyra Reign Sasing for falsification of public documents, dishonesty, grave misconduct and other related offenses.

Town councilor Joel Dumdum filed the complaint before Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Primo Miro, and asked for a preliminary investigation on the matter and a preventive suspension of the two defendants while the case is yet pending.

Dumdum, in his petition, alleged that both officials have conspired to commit the offenses. He said that Sasing went absent without official leave in the town council's regular sessions, from October 24 through November 30, last year.

This act violated the Local Government Code, which provides that a member of a local legislative body may be dismissed if he or she incurs at least three consecutive absences in the regular sessions, argued Dumdum.

Dumdum said Agravante initially supported the charges filed against Sasing by issuing a certification that the latter went AWOL on the dates stated earlier in the complaint.

But the vice mayor later retracted and allegedly set the preparation of Sasing's antedated leave applications to cover the latter's absences in the sessions, Dumdum alleged.

The councilor said an investigation on Sasing's alleged offense and sanctions were already set, if not for the "untimely tampering of (town council) records."

"Vice Mayor Agravante's sudden turnaround to cover-up Lyra Sasing's felonious acts was such a daring exploit to right a wrong of his party-mate," Dumdum said in his complaint, in deference to the latter's father, Raul Sasing, incumbent councilor and party-mate of the vice-mayor.

Dumdum further said that council records did not contain information that Sasing had applied for official leave prior to her absences. - Cristina C. Birondo