BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A councilor in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, who was tagged in a police recruitment scam has been expelled from the municipal council.
The expulsion of Donato Dumaguit was approved by the seven-member municipal council due to the 14 absences that the councilor incurred during their sessions, Mayor Alme Rhumyla Mangilimutan said.
The provincial legal office approved the recommendation of the Sangguniang Bayan.
Kent Magnabe, who ranked ninth among the candidates for councilor in the 2022 elections replaced Dumaguit.
Magnabe took his oath of office before Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson on Monday.
Mangilimutan clarified that the expulsion of Dumaguit was not connected with the large-scale estafa cases filed against the councilor over an alleged P15-million recruitment scam that victimized 47 police aspirants.
The victims allegedly paid P247,000 to P300,000 each for them to be accepted in the police service, even though they are not qualified and eligible.