ILOILO City – The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas suspended punong barangay Roberto Niño Jr. of Calumpang, Molo district for one month for simple misconduct.
Niño’s suspension stemmed from appointing Geraldine Blanco as barangay secretary despite her being supposedly not officially a resident of Calumpang at the time she was appointed. Such was a violation of Republic Act 7610, or the Local Government Code, according to the Ombudsman.
“The Office finds substantial evidence against respondent (Niño) for simple misconduct and imposes upon him the penalty of one month suspension, without prejudice to any possible action on the appointment of Geraldine Blanco itself, or in relation to the Sangguniang Barangay Members who concurred in her appointment,” read the dispositive portion of the decision dated Dec. 3, 2020 and penned by Luanne Ivy M. Cabatingan, Ombudsman-Visayas’ Graft Investigation and Prosecution Office III.
The decision was reviewed by Jane Aguilar, director of the Preliminary Investigation, Administrative Adjudication and Prosecution Bureau (PIAAPB-B); recommended for approval by Carla Juris Narvios-Tanco, Assistant Ombudsman-Visayas; and approved by Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Paul Elmer M. Clemente.
In his defense, Niño denied the charges. While admitting that he indeed appointed Blanco as barangay secretary, he asserted that the latter was residing in Ciudad de Iloilo Subdivision, Zone 8 of their barangay, and this was known to him prior to appointing her as such.
Niño further raised the fact that the barangay council concurred with his appointment of Blanco.
However, according to the Ombudsman, Blanco may now be actually residing in Calumpang and her residency therein may very well have started on Jan. 20, 2018 prior to her appointment as barangay secretary on July 1, 2018, albeit her candidacy for barangay captain of Barangay West Timawa (Molo) in the May 2018 elections rendered even this point doubtful as such candidacy would have required her to be an actual resident of West Timawa for at least one year immediately preceding election day; otherwise she would have been disqualified.
The Ombudsman added that granting, that Blanco had actually started residing in Calumpang on Jan. 20, 2018, she still should not have been appointed as barangay secretary on July 1, 2018.
The anti-graft body said Blanco just fell a little short of the total period of residency required for the appointment to said position.
The Ombudsman said Niño should accordingly be held administratively liable only for simple misconduct with a penalty of one month suspension.
The Department of Interior and Local Government has been directed to implement the Ombudsman decision against Niño.
Panay News reached Niño for a comment but he declined. He was yet to receive his copy of the Ombudsman decision./PN
