BY JEN BAYLON
CAPIZ – Mayor Receliste Escolin of President Roxas town in Capiz province formally received the three-month suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, Feb. 12.
This stemmed from the cases of grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, and simple misconduct filed against him by former Vice Mayor Alfonso Locsin Golero in 2017 for Escolin’s travel to Manila allegedly without prior approval from then Gov. Antonio del Rosario.
The cases for grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct were dismissed.
According to Escolin, the case marks the fifth among the 22 cases filed by Golero against him, most of which have been dismissed by the court.
Escolin’s Omnibus Motion for Reconsideration with prayer to hold in abeyance the Ombudsman’s implementation order is currently pending.
He filed the motion, explaining that a three-month suspension without pay for a first offense of simple misconduct is a harsh penalty.
The mayor, through his social media post, extended his apologies to the town residents for his temporary absence.
In his absence, Vice Mayor Braulio Godfrey Asis will temporarily assume the mayoral position.
Earlier, Gov. Fredenil Castro, on his part, denied allegations that he delayed the implementation of the order.
In a three-page order dated Dec. 1, 2023, the Ombudsman directed Castro to implement the decision and to submit a compliance report.
“Action taken on the order of implementation shall be reported through the attached compliance report and certificate and submitted to the office of the Ombudsman within five days from receipt hereof of the action taken therein. Let it be known that refusal or failure of any officer without just cause to comply with an order of the office of the Ombudsman to remove, suspend, demote, fine, or censor shall be grounds for disciplinary action against said officer.”/PN
