Mayor Vi’s appeal on CSC ruling denied

LIPA CITY, Batangas — The Region 4 office of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) has denied Mayor Vilma Santos’ motion for reconsideration on its earlier ruling against her decision to transfer nine regular employees to a newly created committee.

In a six-page resolution, CSC regional director Rebecca Fernandez said Santos, in her appeal, presented no new arguments against the CSC’s decision last Sept. 11 declaring the transfer as illegal and possibly politically motivated as the nine affected employees had claimed.

Santos, through her legal counsel, lawyer Erwin Layug, argued that her Administrative Order No. 1 transferring the nine employees to a "special study committee" did not violate civil service rules.

The CSC, however, found the employees’ complaint valid, noting that they were made to occupy an abandoned area in the city engineering compound and had no tables and chairs, office equipment and supplies.

The nine were personnel officer Ronald de Castro, farm supervisor Hernando Cator, community development officer Gerardo Espejo, administrative officer Edgardo Latina, assistant community affairs officer Ricardo Libon, market inspector Luisito Mayo, social welfare officer Meynard Melo, public information officer Rolando Sarmiento and human resources officer Ronald Politico. — Arnell Ozaeta