Kamagayan officials sued

Barangay officials of Kamagayan, Cebu City are facing a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas for allegedly withholding the honorarium and incentives of one of their councilmen.

Councilman Celestino Avila alleged that barangay captain Raquel Avila and others withheld his honorarium.

“…respondents’ malicious, willful, and fraudulent withholding honoraria and monetary incentives of complainant for the months of January 2014 until to date amounting to P19,000 without any legal basis and despite demands, have deprived the complainant of the said honoraria and incentives and has caused undue injury to the latter in the amount aforestated,” the complaint reads.

Celestino asked the Office of the Ombudsman to order the respondents to immediately pay him his honorarium and quarterly monetary incentives.

Other respondents were barangay councilmen Reneroy Avila, Mansueto Avila, Deogenes Avila, Norbero Diaz, and Rico Ramirez, barangay treasurer Percival Perez and barangay secretary Independencio Canonigo.

Celestino alleged that the respondents conspired with each other in withholding his honorarium from January 2014 until present in the amount of P10,000 per month, as well as his quarterly monetary incentives in the amount of P9,000, without legal basis.

Under the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Local Budget Circular No. 63 in relation to Section 393 of the Local Government Code of 1991, the barangay council members are paid in form of an honorarium.

Celestino alleged that he was deprived of his honorarium because of his unauthorized absences. However, he said this is in contrast with the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of De Villa v. Mathay, Sr.

Celestino mentioned that in the SC decision, it stated that “an elective official’s entitlement to salary is not dependent upon actual attendance in office.”

The respondents have yet to answer the allegations filed against them.