DILG to wrap up probe on City Hall calamity aid by end of the month

THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7 assured that the Office of the President will release the decision on the administrative complaint filed against some Cebu City officials over the distribution of calamity aid in 2013, as another set of hearings kicked off early this month.

DILG hearing officer Isidro Barrios III said his team will wrap up the investigation on the grave misconduct and abuse of authority charges filed against Mayor Michael Rama, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and 12 city councilors within the last week of this month and first week of November.

“We are confident na matatapos naman namin (that we will be able to finish) with undue delay ang (the) investigation and it will be submitted to the Office of the President kasi sila na ang bahala sa (because they will have the final say on the) decision,” he said.

Lawyer Reymelio Delute lodged the complaint before Malacañang, which tasked the DILG 7 to handle the hearings.

The complaint stemmed from the distribution of P20,000 calamity assistance to all the qualified city employees and some city officials two years ago after super typhoon Yolanda and the magnitude 7.2 earthquake affected Cebu.

Under the Section 2, Rule 6 of Administrative Order 23 of the Office of the President, “no preventive suspension shall be imposed within ninety days immediately prior to any local election.”

If the preventive suspension has been imposed prior to the 90-day period immediately preceding a local election, it shall be deemed automatically lifted upon the start of aforesaid period, the order further stated.

By January, Barrios said, Malacañang is expected to release the decision.

As DILG started the four-day marathon hearing last Oct. 5, counsel of the respondents grilled Delute, who also served as principal witness of the case, on the latter’s allegation that Rama fabricated himself to become a calamity victim and qualify for the financial aid.

When asked by lawyer Rey Gealon if Rama admitted to him directly that he fabricated himself as a calamity victim after the two disasters, Delute said there was no direct admission but he witnessed that there was no devastation in the mayor’s house because they are neighbors in Barangay Basak San Nicolas.