ERMITA OFFICIALS STAY PUT, FOR NOW
Review by DILG head office, Malacañang puts off preventive suspension of barangay captain, 7 council members. Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno says he’ll look into the Cebu City barangay’s predicament.
Suspended officials of Barangay Ermita, Cebu City want to know what will happen to their village’s day-to-day operations and the honoraria of the barangay personnel once their preventive suspension is implemented.
Barangay Captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta wrote the Department of Interior and Local Governmnent (DILG) to inquire who will take over the barangay hall should they serve their sixmonth preventive suspension.
“What are the possible remedies to stop this order of suspension?” asked the officials.
Rupinta said they will visit the DILG 7 office today so they would be enlightened on the suspension order.
The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas placed the officials under six-month preventive suspension for their alleged failure to cooperate in an anti-illegal drug operation conducted in Ermita last year.
The anti-graft body suspended Rupinta and all seven barangay councilors pending the conduct of administrative investigation against the officials for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The ombudsman pushed for the officials’ preventive suspension after finding that the respondents’ guilt is strong.
The suspended councilors are Marky Rizaldy Miral, Antonieto Flores, Ryan Jay Rosas, Alio Tamundo, Domingo Ando, Maria Bianghug and Wilbert Flores.
They allegedly failed to cooperate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)-Central Visayas during a drug raid in 2016.
PDEA 7 Director Yogi Filemon Ruiz filed the complaint before the anti- graft body accusing the barangay officials of refusing to serve as the witness in the inventory of the seized items during their operation that yielded P800,000 worth of suspected shabu.
Assisted by their lawyer Paul Gino Lopez, Rupinta and seven councilors filed on Friday their motion asking Deputy Ombuds- man Paul Elmer Clemente to reverse his order.
The village officials attached in their motion a barangay resolution “showcasing the innocence” of the respondents.
The suspension order is “without due process and injustice,” the official said.
They said that the PDEA-7 agents did not inform any member of the barangay council about the raid on Nov. 6, 2016.
They said that their barangay is “untiringly, continously, and strongly” campaigning against illegal drugs.
In fact, the officials said, they filed almost a thousand cases against drug suspects in court. / GMD