Former Lapu-Lapu CH employee loses right to work for govt

CEBU, Philippines - A former employee of the Lapu-Lapu City Engineer’s Office has been meted the penalty of perpetual disqualification from public service for masquerading as a civil engineer.

Graft investigator Llorene Grace Ompod found construction and maintenance worker Alipio Augusto, Jr., guilty of serious dishonesty.

She said that although Augusto is no longer in public office, the penalty will be deemed implemented and reflected in his record of public service.

Evan Chiu Tan, the complainant of the case stated that on August 17, 2009, respondent went to her office and introduced himself as a civil engineer of the Office of the City Engineer of Lapu-Lapu City.

Tan said Augusto offered his services to draw a building plan for her proposed lodging house and subsequently demanded P11,720 as payment.

She said she was told that the money would be used to buy materials for making the building plan, pay for additional fees in the processing of the building plan, building permit, and clearances, Tan said.

After respondent received the money and signed the acknowledgment receipt, Tan said Augusto suddenly disappeared.

“Complainant went thereafter to respondent’s house to inquire about the building permit, which the latter failed to facilitate therein,” the complaint reads.

Tan said she learned that respondent was not an engineer after the building plan was dishonored by the City Engineer’s Office.

She said she wrote a demand letter to Augusto to return the money, but without luck.

Ompod said she told Augusto to file his counter-affidavit and position paper but Augusto failed, thus, prompting her to resolve the case based on the evidence of the complainant.

In her eight-page decision she stated “respondent is liable for serious dishonesty when he gravely abused his authority in order to commit the dishonest act and when he employed fraud and pretenses in the commission of the dishonest act related to his employment.”

Ompod said the respondent already made a misrepresentation against the complainant even before the payment was made amounting to P11,720.

Despite the demands and call of the complainant, respondent failed to comply.

“As a result of respondent’s false pretenses and misrepresentations, complainant suffered damages as the promised approved building plan, clearances and permit never materialized and the money paid was never recovered,” decision reads.

In the jurisprudence cited by Ompod she stated when respondent used his authority in order to commit the dishonest act, the act was classified as serious dishonesty which is punishable by dismissal from service.