La Union mayor suspended over P90-million plaza rehab

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, Philippines — Mayor Hermenigildo Gualberto of this city has been suspended for six months for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and grave abuse of authority.  

The suspension order, which was issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on April 15, was served by personnel of the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Monday.

Gualberto’s case stemmed from alleged anomalies in the rehabilitation of the city plaza worth P90 million. 

Graft probers said the mayor entered into a contract with a private contractor and allowed the disbursement of funds without authority from the city council. 

“(It) shows respondent’s failure to perform his duties in a regular manner and his willful disregard of the law, rules and regulations... The evidence of respondent’s guilt is strong,” the ombudsman resolution read.  

Forty-seven of the 59 barangay captains here filed the complaint on Jan. 28.

In a post on Facebook, Gualberto said he was “never given the opportunity to examine or oppose” the complaint.

“It also came with undue haste and at a suspicious time, two weeks shy of the elections... I cannot shake off the feeling that this malicious persecution was designed to humiliate me,” he said.

Gualberto said he would appeal the ombudsman ruling.