Ombudsman suspends Pangasinan University president

BINMALEY, Pangasinan , Philippines — The president of the Pangasinan State University (PSU) has been suspended for nine months by the Office of the Ombudsman.

PSU President Dexter Buted and PSU-Binmaley campus executive director Marcelo Gutierrez Jr. were found guilty of oppression in connection with the dismissal of a faculty member, according to a 10-page decision recently approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.

Buted said he has yet to receive a copy of the decision and declined to comment when contacted by The STAR yesterday.

Ricardo Tapia of PSU-Binmaley, who filed the complaint, received a copy of the ombudsman ruling on Tuesday.

Tapia said Buted removed him from the list of university employees for “willful disobedience” after he refused to be immediately transferred from the Binmaley to Urdaneta campus of PSU. 

Gutierrez did not pay Tapia’s salary even before he was dropped from the list of PSU employees and even though the faculty member continued to report for work as shown in his attendance sheets and university logbooks.

“Although complainant made it clear that he intends to report for work at PSU-Binmaley pending the resolution of his appeal on the reassignment, the acts of Gutierrez showed his intention to compel complainant to transfer immediately to PSU-Urdaneta,” the court ruling declared.

The court said Tapia’s insistence on reporting for work at PSU-Binmaley did not amount to disobedience, citing a June 24, 2016 ruling of the  Civil Service Commission, which also dismissed the complaint for insubordination filed against him.