For failing to declare the year he graduated as a civil engineer, Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado was indicted for falsification of public documents by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a statement on Friday, the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Mercado with falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code.
Damian Mercado is the brother of Southern Leyte Congressman Roger Mercado.
Ombudsman records showed that Mercado failed to submit a true, correct and complete Personal Data Sheet (PDS) and the Elective Local Official’s Profile Directory (Data Capture Form).
The Ombudsman said Mercado wrote he was a civil engineer and claimed he attended elementary school at the Maasin Central School from 1964 to 1971.
However, in his 2010 PDS, Mercado failed to indicate the years he graduated from elementary and college.
“Mercado’s failure to fill up the spaces for the year when he graduated (if graduated) constitutes concealment of information in violation of his undertaking in his PDS to state the true, correct and complete statement pursuant to the provisions of pertinent laws, rules and regulations,” the Ombudsman said in its resolution.
Mercado in his defense said he could have only been mistaken for an engineer because he had once worked as a contractor.
The Ombudsman said Mercado’s failure to disclose the years he completed his elementary and college degree showed his intent to conceal information./