Only Ombudsman, Sangguniang Panlalawigan authorized to issue preventive suspension — DILG chief
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) stressed that it does not have the power to impose a preventive suspension on an official of a local government unit (LGU).
Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said this in a press conference on Monday, emphasizing that only the Ombudsman or the Sangguniang Panlalawigan are allowed to impose a preventive suspension on a local official.
“Walang kapangyarihan ang DILG na mag-preventive suspension. Wala kaming kapangyarihan mag-dismiss ng tao. Wala kaming kapangyarihan mag-suspindi ng tao maski mag-reprimand,” Abalos said.
(The DILG does not have the authority for preventive suspension. We do not have the power to dismiss people. We do not have the power to suspend people or even to reprimand them.)
Abalos was responding to a question about the possible preventive suspension of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, whose identity as a Filipino citizen is being questioned due to her alleged involvement in an illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) firm.
However, according to multiple reports, Abalos said that he has instructed the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) to revoke Guo’s authority to deputize and oversee the officials and operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in her municipality.
According to Napolcom Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 99-010, elected governors and mayors are automatically deputized as representatives of the Commission in their respective jurisdictions.
The MC stipulated that mayors have the authority to supervise and control police units in their respective cities or provinces, including the direct employment and deployment of PNP units and personnel.
POGO ties?
Last Tuesday, a total of 165 workers of one of the POGO firms located in Guo’s town which is also linked to her, Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated, were deported to Pudong District, Shanghai, China.
According to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, 167 were initially slated for deportation. However, two workers had their departure deferred since they are facing non-bailable charges of illegal detention and trafficking in persons.
Amid Guo's alleged links to POGOs, the DILG last week urged the Ombudsman to suspend Guo after the agency’s task force probing illegal POGO firms in her town reported troubling findings.
Last Thursday, the Office of the Solicitor General said that it formed a team of solicitors to gather the necessary evidence for a possible quo warranto petition against the mayor.
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