MANILA – The Occidental Mindoro mayor who helped Filipino fishermen onboard a boat rammed by a Chinese vessel was suspended for 90 days by the Sandiganbayan.
In a resolution released publicly on Monday, San Jose mayor Romulo Festin was slapped with preventive suspension in his duties as mayor and other public positions he currently held.
Festin faced three counts of graft for allegedly awarding the P4.5-million computerization contract of his town’s Real Property Tax Assessment system to JABL Information Solutions in July 2008, without the required public bidding.
However, the Sandiganbayan clarified Festin’s suspension was not a result of judicial proceedings. His withheld salaries and benefits during the suspension would be reinstated if he is acquitted in the case.
Festin argued the basis of the cases were purely for “political reasons and mere political harassment” but the Sandiganbayan said Section 7 of the anti-graft law mandated the preventive suspension of an incumbent government official as soon as the charges were deemed valid.
“Once the information is found to be sufficient in form and substance, then the court must issue the order of suspension as a matter of course. There are no ifs or buts about it. This is because a preventive suspension is not a penalty,” the Sandiganbayan said.
“Taking into consideration the public policy involved in preventively suspending a public officer charged under valid information, the protection of public interest will definitely have to prevail over the private interest of the accused,” it added./PN
