Case against immigration chief dismissed

CEBU, Philippines - The administrative complaint filed by Assistant Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro against the Bureau of Immigration (BI) - 7’s acting regional director was dismissed.

Graft Investigator Edsel Ensomo ruled that the complaint for dishonesty or grave misconduct filed by Castro against Casimiro Madarang III was a duplication of a case previously filed.

“Considering that this present administrative case involves the same factual and legal issues as in the aforementioned previous administrative case (OMB-VIS-ADM-97-0450), which had been referred to the Civil Service Commission, Region VII, this Office has no option but to dismiss,” Ensomo ruled.

Ensomo said the dismissal would avoid conflict with the previous case which is now being investigated by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

The case pending before the CSC is about Madarang’s alleged fake eligibility and school records.

Castro accused Madarang of having made false statements in his personal data sheet submitted to the administrative division of the BI office in Manila, which stated that he attended college at the Median Foundation College in Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental with a degree in A.B. Economics.

But for Castro, Madarang’s claim is doubtful as the Median Foundation College started accepting students only in 1990 as stated by Romeo Jose Plama, electronic data processing director of the school.

Castro added that she was told by the wife of the mayor of Ozamiz City that the school was not offering A.B. Economics at that time. She further claimed that Madarang again falsified his personal data by making it appear that he passed the Civil Servic Professional Examination on May 9, 1976 with a rating of 77.08%.

“The fact that respondent graduated only on 1993 clearly shows that he cannot be considered professional in the year 1976, at the time of the examination,” Castro said.

Ensomo said Madarang failed to submit his counter-affidavit despite the order dated July 21, 2009. (FREEMAN)