Ombud junks admin charges against 3 Liloan town workers
THE Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas junked the administrative charges filed against three personnel of the Liloan Municipal Hall over allegedly unlawful behavior.
Pio Dargantes, graft investigation and prosecution officer, said the misconduct charges against public workers Victor Sembrano, Luzviminda Vallente and Malou Diana Montajes ought to be dismissed for lack of evidence.
Complainant Rafaelito Lo, Jr. charged Sembrano, Vallente and Montajes with misconduct before the anti-graft office.
Sembrano is the administrative aide at the Municipal Planning and Development Office. Vallente and Montajes are assigned as municipal health sanitation inspector and town health sanitary assistant, respectively.
In his complaint, Lo, who owns Uniwide Scrap Traders Corp., said the respondents went to his establishment on May 24, 2010 to inspect the area.
When Lo asked for their IDs or authorization to conduct the inspection, the respondents allegedly refused to give any.
They threatened to call the mayor’s office if the businessman refused to let them in.
Logbook
The respondents also refused to sign the logbook of the company, the complainant alleged.
On June 4, 2010, another town hall worker, who claimed to be connected with the Office of the Building Official, also visited the establishment and conducted an inspection relative to the firm’s pending application for an occupancy permit.
Bad odor
Responding to the allegations, the respondents said the inspection was made upon the instruction of License Inspector Hammurabi Bugtai after residents of nearby village complained of bad odor allegedly emanating from the firm.
They said they properly introduced themselves as from Office of the Building Official and presented their IDs and authorization when they conducted the inspection.
The respondents also denied threatening Lo that they would call the mayor if he would not allow them in.
After the inspection, the team observed that the firm was engaging in metal cutting when they are supposed to engage only in the buying and selling of scrap metal, as indicated in its business permit.
Testimonies
In the decision, graft investigator Dargantes gave weight to the testimonies of the respondents.
Town hall records showed that residents of Sitio Whiterose, Barangay Yati, Liloan filed a formal complaint about the foul odor coming from the establishment.
In fact, Mayor Vincent Franco Frasco issued a show cause order against the establishment for violations of its application for business permit.