NEWS: Tagum City Council suspends brgy captain for 90 days

For sacking 3 purok chairmen

april 21

The Tagum City Council in exercising its quasi-judicial functions under the local government code yesterday handed down its verdict of suspending the barangay captain of San Isidro for ninety days without pay for alleged abuse of authority and misconduct in office stemming from three administrative cases filed January last year by three purok chairmen whom he sacked and replaced with his appointed ones.
City Mayor Rey Uy signed the order of suspension to San Isidro barangay captain Rodito Pielago basing from the decision of the Tagum Sangguniang Panlungsod which was signed by all 12 councilors and Vice Mayor Allan Rellon.
SP secretary Rey Buhion accompanied by a Dept. of Local Government city official served the order to Pielago who was not around in his barangay hall in the afternoon when it was served. A staffer of him instead received the order.
Complainants of the separate cases were George Galledo, Romeo Lubon and Cecilio Mejorada, purok chairmen who were elected in Puroks 4, 3 and 5, respectively in December 2005 during the time of former San Isidro barangay captain Venerando Tano, but whom the Pielago replaced in October 2008, after he won the barangay elections.
In their complaints, the three alleged that Pielago after appointing new purok chairmen Antonio Narbay Jr (replacing Galledo), Eleuterio Romanillos (for Lubon) and Henry Gabuyo (for Mejorada) withdrew the P6,000 honorarium from the city funds intended for the purok chairmen as peacekeepers.
They alleged that Pielago signed as the one who recevied the amount and later gave it to his appointees.
The three complaining purok chairmen lodged their respective complaints against Pielago January 7 this year to the City Council, which acting a quasi-judicial body subsequently caused Pielago and the complainants to comply with the processes and summons in administratively hearing the cases.
Pielago in his defense contended, among others, that  it was his legitimate act covered by a barangay resolution, his appointees were the ones legally entitled for the cash gift for the peacekeepers, and that the position of purok chairmen was coterminus to their appointing authority, citing a DILG memorandum circular and a legal opinion.
The City Council, however said in its decision that the grounds of Pielago in citing a legal opinion was misplaced it being premised with different facts.
The City Council also cited that Pielago disregarded the City Ordinance No. 156, s-2006, which defined the quasi-judicial powers of the City Council and prescribed the rules and procedures in the administration of complaints against elective barangay officials, and his action did not accordingly comform with the Municipal Ordinance No. 49, s-1989 on the organization of the puroks.
“Replacing the complainants as Purok Leaders through the mere execution of appointment papers in violation of Municipal Ordinance NO. 49 and withdrawing the cash gift intended for the complainants as peacekeepers and handing the same to other persons is a clear manifestation of the respondent’s abuse of his authority and misconduct in office. Such acts are plain disregard of the mandates of the said Ordinance and violation of the complainants’ constitutional right to due process,” the decision stated.
For the three cases lodged by the complainants, the City Council as a quasi-judicial body found Pielago guilty of the charges complained of, and imposed a penalty of suspension from office for a period of 90 days without pay.
The move was unprecedented during the City Council’s current term, although the previous council immediately preceeding it had accordingly separately suspended before two barangay captains facing administrative complaints.
At press time, Pielago could not be reached for comments. (Cha Monforte/Rural Urban News)

Filed under: San Isidro barangay captain Rodito Pielago, tagum city council, tagum city mayor rey uy, tagum puroks, San Isidro barangay captain Rodito Pielago, tagum city council, tagum city mayor rey uy, tagum puroks

OPINION: Bruised ego

BLOGISTA
By Cha Monforte

Radio listeners of DXDN (Radyo Ukay) in Tagum City including me expected that the City Council would finally uncork its tit-for-tat rage against the North Davao College-Tagum officials who were already present in yesterday’s session. Still a moderated blowing of one’s top is understandable especially when you’re in your own territory and after being snubbed and spurned by a cabal who made them look like toothless tigers.

Had Councilor Joey Millan and his colleagues not withheld yesterday their verdict of declaring as PNGs (persona non grata) the respondent NDC-Tagum officials, we could have seen how the august body make legislative offensives while they are rightly, and not wrongly, on reasoned grounds. Three times of snobbery, regardless of the delayed reply letter of the NDC-Tagum officials after Wednesday’s deadline and their yesterday’s presence, is a ground too much for a kid who knows an uno-dos-tres warning from a playing elder.  We expected not a kid’s glove treatment from the august city council to the respondent NDC-Tagum officials.

Kons. Millan last week threatened he would no longer attend the public hearing on the NDC-Tagum’s controversy on requiring nursing graduates to shell out P10,000 for the nursing review and P7,000 for the mock board exams to be conducted by the school before their school credentials would be issued to them, saying that the NDC officials by snubbing the city council’s invitation thrice and submitting their reply letter beyond Wednesday’s deadline have already waived their right to air their side.

But yesterday the good councilor made a surprising turnaround, successfully convincing his colleagues to hold yet the 7 resolutions contra the NDC-Tagum for 7 days for the school officials to refute why the 7 contra resolutions should not be approved in the next session. Hellow? City Mayor Rey Uy, in wanting to end carnapping and reported kotong activities a day after bishops called for change in governance to stump out corruption in government, beat them in the draw over the weekend by declaring persona non grata the Highway Patrol Group officials and personnel assigned in the territorial highways in Tagum City.

In a brief tangle with Kons. Rey Salve, Kons. Millan stressed he has all been concerned on due process, too, like Salve. He also belabored the point that the 7 NDC contra resolutions were not yet approved, and then the matters were laid on the table for decision by next week. They could have declared the NDC-Tagum officials with persona non grata status on such solidly right and well documented facts. But thanks or no thanks, the city council is peopled, too, by four lawyers including Millan. Ukay’s listening pundits though are left to hear the spectacle as more bark sans bite, though it’s a threatening stick that matters for the NDC nursing graduates and their parents.

But okay, let’s give them the chance- to hear NDC-Tagum’s side within the 7-day breathing period, perhaps within which backroom channeling could be made for a win-win solution, with the possible of restitution on the part of NDC-Tagum, that of allowing their nursing graduates leave their alma mater without strings attached but with the school credentials in wishing them good luck in their review classes and mock board exams at review center or school of their choice, and so due refunds must be done, as quid pro quos in exchange of doing away with the persona non grata tag and the non-revocations of the school’s  permits and accreditations from the city and CHED authorities. I don’t preempt, the school officials have also their own story to tell. But pundits remind- the august city council, too, has its own ego- bruised. (For online edition, visit my blog at: http://cha4t.wordpress.com, for comments, reactions e-mail: chamonforte@yahoo.com, or ruralurbanews@yahoo.com)

Filed under: councilor raymond joey millan, councilor rey salve, ndc-tagum foundation inc, tagum ched, tagum city council, tagum city sp, tagum highway patrol group, tagum mayor rey chiong uy, councilor raymond joey millan, councilor rey salve, ndc-tagum foundation inc, tagum ched, tagum city council, tagum city sp, tagum highway patrol group, tagum mayor rey chiong uy