Dismissed Cabanatuan vice mayor appeals case

MANILA, Philippines — Dismissed Cabanatuan City Vice Mayor Emmanuel Antonio Umali has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to reconsider its ruling finding him guilty of grave misconduct.

Umali also asked the anti-graft agency to nullify its order indicting him in connection with the alleged illegal repacking and distribution of relief goods in 2016.

In separate motions filed recently with the ombudsman, Umali said that complainant Josephine Libunao failed to present evidence showing he was present when the alleged repacking took place.

“Clearly, the case was politically motivated,” he said, adding there was no proof that he conspired with the officials of Nueva Ecija and Cabanatuan City to use the relief goods to advance their political agenda. 

He expressed confidence that the truth would come out and “set us free.”

The relief goods, which came from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), were intended for the typhoon victims in Nueva Ecija.

Libunao, in a complaint filed in June 2016, said the relief goods were repacked in white and unlabeled plastic bags, and distributed during gift-giving activities organized by Umali’s political party in time for the 2016 elections.

In a resolution dated March 7, the ombudsman found Umali and several other officials of Nueva Ecija guilty of administrative offenses of grave misconduct, abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. 

The ombudsman dismissed them from government service, disqualified them from holding public office, forfeited their retirement benefits, cancelled their civil service eligibilities and barred them from taking civil service examinations.

Umali complied with the dismissal order on July 4.

In another resolution issued on the same date, the ombudsman ordered the filing of graft cases against Umali, his brother former Nueva Ecija governor Aurelio Umali and 10 other former and incumbent provincial officials in connection with the same alleged anomaly.

The ombudsman gave weight to the photos and video presented by Libunao showing the actual repacking of relief goods and the gift-giving activities of the Umalis’ political party.

Umali said there was no evidence showing the goods distributed by his political party came from the DSWD.