Former ARMM DepEd exec faces graft raps, for late payment of GSIS premiums

MANILA, Philippines - For failing to pay the teachers’ and employees’ premiums to the government state fund on time, a former head of the Department of Education (DepEd) office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is facing graft charges.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said graft investigators found probable cause to indict Leovigilda Cinches, former officer-in-charge of DepEd-ARMM. 

Records showed that from October 2001 to November 2004, the regional DepEd office remitted late the employee’s contributions to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) amounting to P232.9 million.

The delay resulted in the suspension of employees’ loan privileges and benefits, the Office of the Ombudsman said.

As DepEd’s regional officer-in-charge and director for administrative, finance and other support services, Cinches should have ensured that the monthly GSIS premiums of the employees were collected and remitted on time, said the anti-graft agency.

Cinches was also found guilty of grave misconduct and was ordered dismissed from the service.

The ombudsman dismissed the complaints against three other DepEd officers – accountant Pangalian Maniri, budget officer Mosbicak Ibrahim and cashier Norensa Arimao – for lack of evidence.

It also junked the charges against former GSIS officials Winston Garcia, Leonora de Jesus, Elmer Bautista, Florino Ibañez, Reynaldo Palmiery, Fulgencio Factoran Jr. and Aida Nocete for lack of merit.