Ombudsman orders probe into PAO fund allegations

The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas has ordered a fact-finding investigation into the alleged questionable disbursement of funds at the Public Attorneys’ Office as stated in the petition of the lawyers and staff of the said office.

Deputy ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol said he ordered an investigation based on the newspaper report.  Apostol said they will also request the Commission on Audit to conduct a special audit into the disbursement of funds at the PAO.

The lawyers and staffers of PAO have petitioned for the immediate ouster of their chief Maria Gee Calinawan because of alleged irregularities in the disbursement of their office’s funds.

In their four-page petition dated February 18, the protesting lawyers and staff raised several issues against Calinawan, one of these is her alleged questionable methods in controlling the agency funds.

Calinawan reportedly replaced an employee in charge of the disbursement of the money with a confidant that resulted to PAO district offices not getting their budget.  She was also accused of using disciplinary memoranda on the basis of unsubstantiated information.

Calinawan is likewise accused of having an affair with a married policeman with whom she allegedly has a child.

The petition, which leaked to the members of the media, has earned the protesting lawyers and staffers a memorandum from Manila requiring them to explain their alleged insubordination within 72 hours.

Overall PAO chief Persida Rueda Acosta questioned the actuations of the protesting employees in leaking the petition to the media.   — Fred P. Languido/BRP