Roderick: Truth will prevail

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City second district Councilor Roderick Paulate has broken his silence on the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss him from service over the alleged use of “ghost employees” in 2010.

Paulate, a popular television host-comedian prior to entering politics, took to Instagram to address the issue.

 “This is not big,” he said to a follower in Filipino. “It was just blown out of proportion by those who are behind these lies.”

The councilor, who is running his third and last term in May, decried those who have judged him without knowing what really happened.

“Truth will prevail. God is just! He knows the truth,” he added.

Paulate also hinted at possible politics behind the reason, noting that the decision came out when the election season is heating up.

On Thursday, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of Paulate and former councilor and now first district Rep. Francisco Calalay Jr.

The two, along with their staff Flordeliza Alvarez and Vicente Bajamunde, were found guilty of the administrative offenses of falsification of official documents, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and grave misconduct.

They were also ordered perpetually disqualified from holding public office with cancellation of eligibility and forfeiture of retirement benefits.

Investigation showed that Calalay and Paulate authorized the hiring of 60 job order personnel with salaries ranging from P5,000 to P10,000 per month. The contractual employees were hired as field inspectors, district coordinators and office aides.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier said Calalay disbursed a total of P2,175,000 in wages while Paulate disbursed a total of P1,125,000 “through the submission of spurious personal data sheets and payrolls.”

Both officials told ombudsman probers they “relied on the endorsements of their staff and coordinators” but the anti-graft agency rejected their reasoning.

“They... failed to satisfactorily explain why each job contractor had different signatures appearing in the subject payrolls,” read the decision.

Other than the Instagram post, Paulate has not issued any other official statement addressing the matter.

Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said they have no intention of removing Calalay from Congress “at this stage,” saying he believes that the lawmaker will appeal the ruling with the Court of Appeals.

Still on the list

Calalay and Paulate, who are both running for reelection, are still in the list of initial candidates released by the Commission on Elections.

Calalay, a member of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), is running against former congressman Bingbong Crisologo of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance.

Paulate is a member of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, but is part of the slate of reelectionist Mayor Herbert Bautista of LP.