Dismissed Southern Leyte governor faces falsification raps

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Southern Leyte governor Damian Mercado was charged before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly falsifying his credential records in 2010.

Mercado was charged by the Office of the Ombudsman with two counts of falsification of public documents defined and penalized under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code.

Based on the information of the cases, Mercado “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously” made false declarations in his Civil Service Commission Form 212 otherwise known as the Personal Data Sheet (PDS) and his Elective Local Official’s Profile Directory (ELOPD) also refereed as Data Capture Form, which he both executed in June 2010.

For his PDS, the ombudsman said Mercado declared that he obtained a degree in Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of the Visayas, even when “he did not not enroll at the said university much less obtain the said degree therefrom.”

Furthermore, the ombudsman said Mercado also failed to indicate in his PDS the years when he completed his elementary education at the Maasin Central School and his secondary education supposedly at the University of the Visayas.

As for his ELOPD, which he submitted to the Department of Interior and Local Government, the ombudsman said Mercado made it appear that he completed his elementary education in 1971 when records from Maasin Central School show that he graduated in 1968.

Furthermore, Mercado also allegedly declared in his ELOPD that he is a civil engineer despite “knowing fully well that he did not graduate with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of the Visayas, thereby making untruthful statements in a narration of facts, wherein the accused had the legal obligation to disclose the truth thereof.”

The ombudsman asked the Sandiganbayan to set Mercado's bail bond at P48,000.

Set to testify against Mercado are DILG Region 8 Administrative Division chief Artemio Caneja, Southern Leyte provincial administrator Crispin Arong, University of the Visayas registrar Leonila Vallar-Legarde and Fr. Garnet Quirong of Maasin City Central School.

It was in July last year when the ombudsman dismissed Mercado from service after he was found guilty of the administrative offense of grave misconduct over alleged anomalous procurement of three second-hand vehicles amounting to P2.3 million, during his term as Maasin City mayor in 2007.

Mercado was replaced by then vice governor Chistopher “Coco” Yap.