Iloilo town mayor, deputy charged over transpo allowance

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has filed graft cases against former Lambunao, Iloilo mayor Reynor Gonzales and incumbent Vice Mayor Cesar Gonzales over their alleged unlawful receipt of transportation allowance in 2014, despite using government-issued vehicles.

Reynor was charged before the Sandiganbayan with two counts of violation of Section 3 of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, while Cesar was charged with one count of the same offense.

Reynor and Cesar were accused of causing “undue injury to the government” when they filed claims for and eventually received transportation allowance (TA) amounting to P90,000 and P83,880, respectively, from January to December 2014 despite being assigned government vehicles for their use.

The ombudsman said Reynor and Cesar’s act was in violation of Department of Budget and Management Circular  2013-103, which stated that “those who were assigned or who use government motor transportation shall no longer be entitled to the TA, but only to the commutable (representation allowance) for the month.”