Ombudsman orders dismissal of BSP exec

For allegedly incurring a shortfall of more than P5 million in his accounts, an official of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) based in Bacolod City was ordered dismissed from the service yesterday by the Office of the Ombudsman.

According to the Ombudsman, the case against Lindo Butiong, manager 1 of BSP’s Bacolod office, stemmed from a general operations review conducted by the BSP’s internal audit department on the cash accountabilities of officers of the Bacolod City branch from April 11 to July 13, 2005.

When Butiong’s accounts were inspected, the Ombudsman said auditors noticed that some bundles of P500 bills were not as thick as the standard ones, leading them to suspect a shortfall.

In the succeeding audits, they discovered a shortfall amounting to a total of P5.955 million, prompting them to file a complaint against Butiong in the Office of the Ombudsman.

In his June 28, 2005 affidavit, Butiong, according to the Ombudsman, admitted using the funds to finance his lending activities and treasure hunting, assigning his monetary employment benefits to the BSP as payment for the shortfall.

Butiong was told to file a counter-affidavit but failed, which the Ombudsman deemed as a waiver of his right to do so.

He also failed to report to work soon after the shortfall in his accounts was discovered, the Ombudsman said.

In a six-page decision, Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez said Butiong was guilty of dishonesty and meted him the penalty of dismissal from the service, with forfeiture of all his benefits, perpetual disqualification from public office and cancellation of all his civil service eligibilities.

The Ombudsman is also set to file charges of malversation of public funds against Butiong.