Escalante VM suspended for abuse of authority

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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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January 12, 2018
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MANILA – Vice Mayor Santiago Maravillas of Escalante City, Negros Occidental was ordered suspended for one year.

The Office of the Ombudsman found Maravillas guilty of two counts of abuse of authority or oppression for firing two contractual local government employees without reason when he was acting mayor.

The Ombudsman ordered Maravillas’ suspension on Thursday.

Maravillas fired Florencio Lauron and Francisca Pabuaya, who occupied the positions Heavy Equipment Operator II and Administrative Aide II, respectively, in the local government, the Ombudsman said.

Maravillas issued Lauron a termination letter on Jan. 12, 2016 and excluded Pabuaya from the payroll starting Jan. 1, 2016, documents obtained by the Ombudsman showed.

“[The] respondent’s act of terminating the services of [the] complainants without cause and due process is a clear display of excessive use of authority,” Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said.

According to the Ombudsman, what Maravillas did violated Section 36 (a), Article IX of Presidential Decree No. 807 (Civil Service Decree of the Philippines) and Section 46, Chapter 7, Title I, subtitle a, Book V of Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987).

These policies provided in part that no officer or employee in the civil service shall be suspended or dismissed except for cause as provided by law and after due process, Morales said.

Morales directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government secretary to immediately implement the order against Maravillas.

Panay News was still trying to reach Maravillas for comment as of press time./PN
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