UNCERTAINTY still shrouds the political career of dismissed Dumanjug Mayor Efren “Gungun” Gica.
This developed as the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) approved and adopted the recommendations of a resolution recommending the dismissal of the administrative complaint filed against him by his political rival, former Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Garcia.
The resolution adopted the committee report of the PB’s Committee on Complaints and Investigations which recommended to dismiss the case for “lack of merit.”
“We will wait and see with my lawyers what are the most appropriate steps to take. Because at this point, it’s confusing considering the nature of the case,” Gica told Cebu Daily News in a phone interview.
The administrative case Gica faced before the PB was the same one that convinced the Office of the Ombudsman to prevent him from holding public office after they found him guilty for malversation of public funds, three counts of falsification of official documents, and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).
The Ombudsman’s decision, which was released last October 2017, stemmed from a complaint filed by Garcia accusing Gica of tampering with receipts to bloat the amount paid for conducting a budget seminar in a Chinese restaurant in Cebu City last 2014 from P11,435 to P21,435.
Meanwhile, Garcia said that he was surprised by the PB decision. “I already withdrew my case from the PB because of non-action,” said Garcia.