Carmona mayor cleared of charges

CARMONA, Cavite — Ombudsman Aniano Desierto has dismissed technical malversation charges filed against Mayor Roy Loyola of this town for lack of merit.

Desierto’s dismissal of the case was based on the recommendation of Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Jesus Guerrero and results of the investigations conducted by Director Emilio Gonzales and Graft Investigator Officer Ma. Vivian Cacho-Calikdan.

Gleaned from a four-page resolution, government investigators found no probable cause to hold Loyola liable for technical malversation as the later showed no irregularities in the performance of his duties as local chief executive last year.

Vice Mayor Amador Alumia accused Loyola before the Ombudsman as having committed irregularities on 12 instances last year such as the payment of monthly cellphone billings of school district supervisors and three local officials of the municipalities.

Alumnia’s complaint was based on the annual audit reports of the Carmona town conducted by the Cavite provincial auditor last year.

In dismissing the case, the Ombudsman said Loyola was also able to show that the funds spent for payment of cellphone billings were covered by the budget of the local school board for maintenance and other operating expenses.

The Ombudsman also said that on other alleged irregularities, scrutiny of the Commission on Audit (COA) reports revealed that those were merely administrative lapses. — Rene Alviar