Leyte mayor, disbursing officer under suspension

The Sandiganbayan has suspended the mayor and disbursing officer of the Leyte town of Bato for three months after government prosecutors indicted them for graft for allegedly having "ghost employees."

The anti-graft court’s fourth division thumbed down Bato Mayor Benedicto Kuizon’s argument that placing him under suspension would jeopardize the delivery of basic services to his constituents.

"There are still remaining public elective officers who will surely know how to deal with the problems that beset the municipality in order not to prejudice public service, in accordance with the mandate of the Local Government Code," the court said.

The fourth division, composed of Justices Gregory Ong, Rodolfo Palattao and Ma. Cristina Cortez-Estrada, also suspended disbursing officer Rosalina Tolibas who, for her part, did not question the court’s move.

Kuizon is also charged with malversation of public funds for allegedly unaccounting for P13,000 in the construction of the municipal building and for alleged falsification of public documents.

Government prosecutors filed the cases in September 1997 after the Commission on Audit discovered the alleged anomalies.

In a seven-page resolution, the Sandiganbayan dismissed Kuizon’s argument that the charges against him are "flimsy" and had "no substance," saying that the criminal information is "valid" and has complied with the Rules of Court.

"Once the validity of the information has been determined, suspension of the accused public official becomes mandatory," the court said.

The Sandiganbayan also described as "misleading" Kuizon’s claim that the special prosecutor’s office even wanted him out of the suit, saying that the Ombudsman had actually disapproved this recommendation for having no basis at all.

The court authorized the Leyte governor to implement the administrative sanction against Kuizon and Tolibas.