Despite being appointed by Talisay City Mayor Johnny V. delos Reyes, Talisay City College (TCC) president Dr. Paulus Cañete continues to contest his designation against his supposed predecessor.
Cañete filed a complaint of unlawful appointment against former Talisay City mayor and now Councilor Socrates Fernandez and five members of the TCC Board of Trustees before the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office last Tuesday.
Also included in the complaint is acting TCC president Richel Bacaltos, who told Cebu Daily News in text messages that the Board of Trustees had affirmed his appointment.
In his complaint, Cañete cited Article 244 of the Revised Penal Code to bolster his case (see former congressman Eduardo Gullas’s Letter to the Editor on Page 12).
“Any public officer who shall knowingly nominate or appoint to any public office an person lacking the legal qualifications therefore, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor and fine not exceeding P1,000,” Cañete said.
UNQUALIFIED
Fernandez appointed Richel Bacaltos, a former City Administrator, as acting TCC president to replace Dr. Tomas Ramos who failed to liquidate the school’s collectibles.
Included in Cañete’s complaint were former City Legal officer Owen Algoso, Woodrow Denuyo, Talisay City Schools Division superintendent; Bonifacio Villanueva, former president of Cebu Technological University (CTU); Marcelo Lopez, president of Cebu Normal University (CNU); and Rossana Urdaneta of the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda).
Cañete argued that Bacaltos is unqualified for the post because he doesn’t have a doctorate degree from a reputable school as required by the Commission on Higher Eduation (Ched).
He said Bacaltos was appointed by the board without the recommendation of a duly constituted search committee under section 6 of City Ordinance no. 2008-11.
Cañete said Bacaltos is also city administrator at the time of his appointment.
QUORUM
Cañete also said there was no quorum during the board meeting that confirmed Bacaltos’ appointment because there were only four members present while the rest were proxies. He said the 11-member board needs six members to be present to have a quorum.
Fernandez, who said he’s ready to face the complaint, showed the minutes of the June 5, 2013 meeting which showed seven board members present.
Fernandez said a June 27, 2013 school board meeting attended by nine members affirmed the June 5 decision.
Bacaltos said he was invited by Ched to a school board meeting in their Barangay Lahug Cebu City office today.
The invitation was issued by Denuyo. The meeting will discuss the authorization of Bacaltos on giving the degrees, titles and diplomas of this year’s 726 graduates.
The meeting will also be attended by Mayor delos Reyes, the school board chairman. Cañete was not invited.
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