Ombudsman upholds suspension of Iloilo governor

The Office of the Ombudsman has upheld its Dec. 4, 2006 resolution, which ordered the dismissal of Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas and his perpetual disqualification from holding public office for graft charges.

In a 14-page resolution penned by Assistant Special Prosecutor 3 Marina Demeterio and approved by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the Office of the Ombudsman ruled that Tupas “did not present any new evidence” in his instant motion for reconsideration and dismissed Tupas’ appeal “for lack of merit.”

Tupas was dismissed over a complaint filed by the People’s Graftwatch of Iloilo that he allegedly approved the release of P65,000 from the funds of the Community Direct Action Project (CDAP) to pay for non-existent trainings and seminars of the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines (PBMLP).

Charged with Tupas were Iloilo provincial board members Cecilia Capadosa and Domingo Oso Jr. and Iloilo provincial budget officer Elena Lim.

According to the complaint, Capadosa was the payee of the check in the disbursement voucher as the PBMLP allegedly has no bank account.

The complaint also alleged that Capadosa and Oso pocketed the proceeds of the check. Lim, meanwhile, allegedly signed the allotment and obligation slip despite the absence of an official documentary proof to show that there were indeed scheduled training or seminar for board members.

In his counter affidavit, Tupas argued that the CDAP, which has a lump sum of P15 million, is alloted for development projects and activities in support of the priority programs of the province and the office of the provincial governor.

As such, Tupas said he utilized the CDAP allotment for extending financial assistance to the PBMLP for their trainings and seminars.

The Ombudsman, however, ruled that Tupas, Oso and Capadosa were guilty but the administrative case against Lim was dismissed.