SOME 89 Punong Barangays (PBs) across the country have been placed on six-month preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) following the filing of complaints by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) against the said barangay officials for anomalies and irregularities involving the implementation of the first tranche of the social amelioration program (SAP).
Region 1 (Ilocos Region), National Capital Region, Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) tops list of suspended PBs.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año directed the respective Municipal/City Mayors of these PBs to immediately implement the order of the Office of the Ombudsman upon receipt while the DILG Regional and field officers were directed to ensure the orderly implementation of the said mass suspension.
He thanked Ombudsman Samuel Martires for immediately acting on the complaints filed by the Department against the erring PBs since this will serve as a stern warning to all local government units that any wrong-doing on their part will not be tolerated by the Department.
“Naway magsilbing babala ang suspensiyon na ito sa iba pang mga lokal na opisyales. Ang katiwalian ay walang puwang sa ating pamahalaan lalong-lalo pa ngayong panahon ng pandemya,” he added.
In an Order dated September 2, 2020, the Office of the Ombudsman said that “the evidence on record shows that the guilt of these punong barangays is strong and the charges against them involve Serious Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct, Abuse of Authority and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service which may warrant removal from the service.”
The Ombudsman maintained that the continued stay of these PBs in office may prejudice the case filed against them, “[so] placing them under preventive suspension for a period of six (6) months pursuant to Republic Act No. 6770 is proper under the premises.”
DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that the suspension of the 89 PBs, the first such mass suspension in the history of the country, is just the latest in a series of moves undertaken by the DILG to weed out corrupt officials in the implementation of the SAP.
He said that acting on the orders of the DILG, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) has already filed criminal cases against 447 individuals for violations of Republic Act (RA) 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), RA 11469 (Bayanihan Act I), and RA 6713 (Code of Conduct of Government Officials and Employees), among others, again in relation to the implementation of the Social Amelioration.
Of the 447 suspects, 211 are elected local and barangay officials, 104 are appointed barangay officials and 132 are their civilian co-conspirators. The cases are now being handled by the different City and Provincial Prosecutors across the country who have started the filing of the necessary information against the suspects in the courts.
According to the DILG Chief, Region 1, National Capital Region, and Region 2 tops the list of suspended PBs while Cordillera Administrative Region and Caraga has the least number of suspended PBs. Only Region XII has no suspended PBs among all regions. (REFERENCE: DILG PRESS RELEASE)