Madridejos mayor accused of falsifying documents

CEBU, Philippines - Madridejos Vice Mayor Doroteo Salazar has filed an administrative complaint before the Cebu Provincial Board against Mayor Salvador dela Fuente and several other town officials for alleged tampering of their annual budget and the non-implementation of the memorandum of agreement with the provincial government for the concreting of various barangay roads.

Salazar accused Dela Fuente of falsification of legislative public documents and violation of Article 170 and Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code when the town’s annual budget this year was passed and submitted for the Provincial Board’s approval even without his signature.

According to Salazar, he withheld his signature on the passage of the annual budget because of the strong objections of the one of the members of the council for alleged violations of the Local Government Code.

Salazar said councilor Salvador Villaruel objected to the passage of the budget allegedly citing violations of Sections 418 and 420 of the Local Government Code. Despite the objection majority of the members of the council voted to pass the budget.

Salazar explained he was very careful about it considering that they have already been reprimanded by the Commission on Audit for committing the said violation in the past.

But even without his signature on the budget ordinance it was transmitted and subsequently approved by the Provincial Board.

Salazar questioned the propriety of the approval of the budget by the PB considering that the copy they received did not bear the official seal of Madridejos and his signature of attestation as presiding officer which is mandated under Section 54 of the LGC.

Salazar added that it does not also have the signature of the mayor on each page of the budget as also mandated by law. According to Salazar, Dela Fuente, in connivance with the other municipal officials, “misled” the provincial board into committing a crime against public interest.

Aside from Dela Fuente, councilor Emy Mates Gabito was also named respondent of the complaint for alleged conduct unbecoming of a public official for getting the approved budget from the municipal council without furnishing the municipal council a copy.

The other officials who were named respondents include budget officer Bella Oftana, Human Resource Management officer Catalino Tamayo, municipal treasurer Felixberta Pabualan and Concordio Cogal.

Municipal council secretary Roland Gidayawan and municipal accountant Jaime Quiogue were likewise impleaded in the complaint.

Aside from the alleged grave abuse of authority committed by Dela Fuente with regards to the annual budget the latter was also accused of violating the MOA that the municipal government entered into with the province for the concreting of various barangay roads.

Based on the MOA the province donated 6,000 bags of cement to the town for the road concreting of the barangay roads but these were allegedly left unused. Dela Fuente allegedly failed to distribute the bags of cement to its intended beneficiaries.

Dela Fuente was not available for comment yesterday. — Fred P. Languido/BRP (THE FREEMAN)