Rendered unfit for office?

Officials and employees of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) have renewed their call for chairman Brigida-Zenaida Pawid to resign after they found out she has not been filing her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).

The Office of the Ombudsman issued a certification that Pawid has not filed her SALN for the past 11 years, from 1990 to 2011, in violation of Republic Act no. 6713 otherwise known as the Code of Conducted and Ethical Standard for Public Officials and Employees. Section 8 of RA 6713 requires all public officials and employees to file under oath their SALN within 30 days from the date of their assumption of office and every year thereafter.

Section 11, meanwhile, provides for penalties for violations among which are a fine not exceeding the equivalent of six months’ salary or suspension not exceeding one year, or removal from office.

Pawid, 70, was appointed to the NCIP as commissioner representing Region I and Cordillera Autonomous Region in November 2010. She was named NCIP chairman on June 7, 2011 replacing lawyer Roque Agton who remains as commissioner for Southern Mindanao. The certification was issued by administrative assistant Arnel Larbodis, SALN–in-charge which issuance was subscribed and sworn to before graft investigation officer 1 Joseph Marion Navarette on request of a certain Salvador Liked of Mountain Province.

The officials and employees said Pawid should resign immediately out of delicadeza saying she has lost legal and moral authority to continue holding on to her position after the Ombudsman certified that she has violated the law on how officials should conduct themselves.                       

Earlier, Pawid told the NCIP commissioners during an en banc meeting that she was quitting as chairman and member of the commission. She took back her statement later.

Pawid has been the subject of poison letters at the NCIP central and regional offices   and text messages among employees.

Pawid is unfit to continue holding on to her office as proven by her latest actuation, taking the government and the NCIP officials and employees for a ride, the employees added. The employees also assailed Pawid for reversing in last week’s meeting a resolution on educational assistance program (EAP) the commission approved earlier. The financial assistance for indigenous people under the EAP comes from the pork barrel of congressmen, the employees said. 

Meanwhile, four NCIP bureau directors in a joint statement called on Pawid to treat the employees humanely and to deal with mid-level officials professionally even as they denied any part in the poison letters condemning Pawid. The directors were identified as Dr. Carlos Buasen Jr. of the Office of Socio-Economic Services and Special Concerns, lawyer Leilene Marie Gallardo of the Office of Empowerment and Human Rights, Dr. Marie Grace Pascua of the Office on Education, Culture and Health and, Masli Quilaman of the Office on Policy, Planning and Research.

A portion of the latest letter addressed to President Aquino, circulated at the NICP offices and claimed to have been authored by LAGLAG PAWID which was also sent through text messaging reads as follows:  “ Walang nagawang mabuti sa mga IP na binansagan Ipis ng Lipunan. Walang nagawa na reporma sa NCIP sinisira pa ng lubusan. Niyuyurakan ang pagkatao ng bawat isa, kasapi man ng NGOs, IPOs o ng NCIP.”

Pawid who vowed to champion the cause of the indigenous people when named to chair the  commission  in June last year has been violating the terms and conditions of the collective negotiating agreement (CNA) with the association, NCIP Employees Association president Dong Laquibol said.

Laquibol, who is also the president of the National Confederation of the Independent Unions of the Philippines said Pawid has been arbitrarily disapproving travels of NCIP employees to attend seminars and training by refusing to sign their travel orders and release of allowance in violation of the CNA.

He added that the call for Pawid’s resignation has been snowballing starting at the central office led by the bureau directors down to the regional and provincial offices for her unprofessional treatment of the mid-level executives and dealing with employees like her housemaids. 

Laquibol said upon completion of consultation with provincial and regional chapters of NCIPEA, the association would come up with an official statement which may call for the resignation of Pawid for unprofessional conduct and not filing her SALN in violation of the pertinent law.

For comments, e-mail at [email protected].