Mayor, 6 others ordered dismissed

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed from service Aloguinsan Mayor Augustus Caesar and his wife, former vice mayor Cynthia Moreno, and five other municipal officials over alleged irregularity in the purchase of food supplies worth P287, 725 in 2010.

Maria Janina Hidalgo, assistant special prosecutor of the anti-graft office, found the public officials guilty of grave misconduct and recommended before the Sandiganbayan the filing of criminal cases against them for alleged violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act).

Cynthia will also be charged separately with violating of Section 9, in relation to Section 11 of RA 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standard for Public Officials and Employees), which provides for the requirement of divestment to avoid conflict of interest.

Also named accused in the case were Bids and Awards Committee members Pepito Maguilimotan, Nonela Villegas, Marilyn Flordeliza, Gertrudes Ababon, and Evangeline Manigos.

The Ombudsman, however, dismissed the complaints against three other BAC officials, namely: Maria Iris Andrino; Orven Nengasca, who was the BAC technical working group; and Emilia Luz Celis, former BAC secretariat and now town councilor, for lack of evidence.

The anti-graft office argued that the indicted officials failed to comply with the procurement process in buying the food supplies.

“Passing over the procurement papers, they repeatedly ignored glaring violations and consistently contributed to the propagation of the serially anomalous practices,” read Hidalgo's 22-page joint resolution.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by former Aloguinsan councilor Danilo Margallo before the Visayas-Ombudsman's Field Investigation Office. He accused the officials of grave misconduct and violating the anti-graft law for the “irregular” 28 purchases of food supplies from AVG Bakeshop amounting to P282,725.

 Margallo said the Moreno couple violated the anti-graft law for approving the purchase of the food supplies from the bakeshop of which they also have interest in.

Cynthia allegedly approved the release of disbursement vouchers for the payment of food purchases made from February to July 2010.

Augustus Caesar, on the other hand, approved the disbursement vouchers' release for the purchases made for the months of April, August and December in 2010.

The Moreno couple admitted owning AVG Bakeshop, but claimed that they later sold it to a certain Lyn Tojeno on May 10, 2007.

But the Ombudsman found out that the supposed sale of the business in 2007 involved merely a transfer of assets and inventory and that the transactions and obligations of the bakeshop continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Morenos.

“In this sense, they failed to abide by the mandate to avoid conflicts of interest at all times; and (Cynthia) Moreno to divest herself of all shareholdings or interest in a business when a conflict of interest arises, and/or within sixty days from assumption to office,” the Ombudsman said.

The BAC members, for their part, insisted that that they complied with all the required procurement laws.

Hidalgo, though, ruled that the Moreno couple knew of the conflict of business interest when they approved the purchases of food supplies from their bakeshop.

 “The number of transactions, the identical manner of handling, the submission of simulated documents, the frequency of their occurrence, and the singularity of their purpose leave no doubt of the respondents' objective and conspiracy to confer unwarranted benefits to AVG Bakeshop in disregard and at the expense of the government's interest,” read part of the resolution.

In May 2007, Cynthia was elected and proclaimed as mayor of Aloguinsan town. In 2010, she was replaced by her husband Augustus Caesar, with Cynthia as his vice mayor.

The Ombudsman’s dismissal order carries with it the penalty of perpetual disqualification from re-employment in government service, which also means that they can no longer hold public office.

Asked for their comment on the order, Augustus Caesar said they were filing a motion for reconsideration for the Office of the Ombudsman to hopefully reverse its order.

“That's what they want. There's nothing I can do except to avail of the legal remedy. We will be filing a motion for reconsideration,” he told The FREEMAN.

The mayor, who has yet to receive a copy of the order after being informed about it by his lawyer last Monday, said they are studying what would be their key arguments.

“I can’t tell really what will happen next. But let’s just see,” he said.

The FREEMAN tried to call Cynthia but she was unavailable for comment as of press time. – Michael Vencynth H. Braga, Kristine B. Quintas (FREEMAN)