These were the images of residents in Barangay Basak Pardo who gathered in public to play “hantak” circulating online. The village chief was already issued a show cause order because of this. | Photo Courtesy of Atty. Juril Patiño
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Legal Office (CLO) found no fault on the Basak Pardo barangay officials over the public gathering of residents in Sitio Ulap in the barangay on July 3, 2020.
Cebu City Legal Officer Rey Gealon said the barangay officials proved in their response to the show-cause order that the barangay tanods and workers in Basak Pardo were busy with the distribution of the quarantine passes and responding to a road accident that happened elsewhere in the barangay.
Read more: Basak Pardo chief told to explain ‘hantak’ in her barangay
Barangay Captain Catalina Cabardo said that they were undermanned because some of the barangay workers were infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Furthermore, Gealon said that a game of hantak (a toss coin game or a game of heads and tails), which is illegal in nature, could be conducted anytime anywhere by the erring individuals far from the sight of law enforcers.
Read more: CCPO to file charges against men in viral ‘hantak’ photos
He said the barangay officials could not be liable for the public gathering brought by erring residents playing the hantak.
“Based on the foregoing premises, this office finds that the Honorable Barangay Captain together with the Members of the Sangguniang Pambarangay is not negligent in the performance of her duties to enforce the mandate of the mayor’s executive orders.”
“Officials Barangay Basak Pardo are administratively off the hook on negligence and dereliction of duty complaints, but they have to cooperate and coordinate with the police in the filing of charges of those who were involved in that ‘hantak’ incident,” said Gealon.
The barangays officials’ explanation was deemed meritorious by the CLO as they found sufficient legal and factual bases to exonerate them, subject to the consolidated findings of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The findings have been forwarded to the DILG who has taken over the case./dbs