PB junks complaint vs. San Fernando officials

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Board has dismissed the complaints against the officials of the Municipality of San Fernando filed by employees of the Sangguniang Bayan.

In a resolution authored by Board Member Raul Bacaltos and co-authored by Board Member Ricardo Pepito, the PB adopted and approved the committee report of the Committee on Complaints and Investigation dated December 7, 2022 dismissing the complaint.

Named respondents are San Fernando Mayor Mytha Ann B. Canoy, Councilors Rizza Jessica Canoy Osmeña, Juvy M. Procianos, Jovelita Aratia, Riyadh Christopher Oacan, Flores C. Guanzon, and former councilor Erico Enad, for dereliction of duty, gross negligence, oppression and abuse of authority under Section 60 of Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991.

The complainants are Evelyn Loguiber, Ronie Rayla, Veleriana Mejio, Patrick Toquero and Fermina Naneth Parba, all employees of the Sangguniang Bayan of San Fernando.

The complaint stemmed from the alleged non-payment of complainants’ salaries since July 1, 2022 due to the passage of Resolution No. 76 on June 6, 2022 by the Sangguniang Bayan of San Fernando.

The town council re-aligned the unused funds under the Sangguniang Bayan budget amounting to P2.8 million under Legislative Research and Codification for Special Purpose Appropriation to the Capital Outlay of the Mayor’s Office.

A complaint was filed before the Office of the Vice Governor by the complainants and was referred to the PB Committee on Complaints and Investigation for appropriate action.

The committee chaired by Bacaltos cited Section 3, Chapter III of the 2015 Revised Rules of Procedure as Amended in Administrative Cases before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Cebu as basis in conducting its investigation.

It states that “the prosecution of administrative cases falling within the original jurisdiction of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan shall be by complaint filed directly in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, through the Office of the Provincial Secretary, without need of a prior preliminary examination. The complaint must be accompanied by affidavits of the complainant and of his witnesses in such a number of copies, as there are respondents, plus six (6) copies. The complaint must be verified, otherwise, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan shall immediately dismiss the same.”

Bacaltos said that a close and minute scrutiny of the documents presented to the Committee readily evinced failure on the part of the complainants to comply with the mandatory requirements in the filing of administrative complaint before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, more particularly on the aspect of verification.

Bacaltos explained that a complaint lacking proper verification is to be treated as an unsigned pleading which produces no legal effect. Verification is intended as an assurance that what are alleged in the complaint are true and correct and filed in good faith.

“Moreover, the filing of the present complaint defies Section 3 of Ordinance No. 2015-23 which compels that it has to be effected directly with the Office of the Provincial Secretary. The same office could have had required the complainants the payment  of P2,000.00  as filing fee to subsidize the expenses incurred by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan regarding the disposition of cases,” read the Committee Report.

“After close scrutiny of the documents attendant to the present complaint, the Committee in its Report dated December 7, 2022 resolved to dismiss the subject complaint for failure on the part of the complainants to comply with the mandatory requirements in the filing of administrative complaint before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,” read the PB resolution. (FREEMAN)