Ni Rommel P. Tabbad
Ipinag-utos ng Office of the Ombudsman ang isang taon na suspensiyon ni Escalante City, Negros Occidental Vice Mayor Santiago Maravillas, dahil sa pag-abuso sa kapangyarihan sa pagsibak sa ilang contractual employees sa siyudad.
Sa inilabas na ruling ng Ombudsman, napatunayang nagkasala si Maravillas sa dalawang bilang ng abuse of authority/oppression.
Sa fact-finding investigation ng anti-graft agency, natuklasang tinanggal ni Maravillas ang kapwa contractual employees na sina Florencio Lauron, Heavy Equipment Operator II; at Francisca Pabuaya, Administrative Aide II, noong 2016.
Tinatayang 132,000 pamilya, lumikas sa Eastern Visayas dahil sa super typhoon Pepito
Ayon sa Ombudsman, nagpalabas ng termination letter si Maravillas laban kina Lauron at Pabuaya noong unang linggo ng Enero 2016 kahit walang sapat na dahilan.
“Respondent’s act of terminating the services of complainants [Lauron and Pabuaya] without cause and without due process is a clear display of excessive use of authority. The act of summarily dismissing complainants violates Section 36(a), Article IX of Presidential Decree No. 807 (Civil Service Decree of the Philippines) and Section 46, Chapter 7, Title I, subtitle a, Book V of Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987) which both provide in part [that] no officer or employee in the Civil Service shall be suspended or dismissed except for cause as provided by law,” pagdidiin pa ng Ombudsman.
