A barangay captain of Sta. Fe town in northern Cebu was ordered suspended for one month and a day for appointing a losing candidate as his secretary less than a year after the May 2010 elections.
The Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas found Adoracion Cabrera of barangay Talisay, Sta. Fe guilty of simple misconduct for violating the Local Government Code of 1991 and the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
“With the above prohibition, the Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (Pacpo) insists that Cabrera should be made to answer for the infraction committed,” said graft investigation and prosecution officer Marie Fe Frances Seville-Ang.
“Clearly, Cabrera performed an unlawful act in relation to the duties of his office. He performed an act which he had no right to perform, such act being prohibited by law.”
Under the law, “no candidate who has lost in any election shall, within one year after such election, be appointed to any office in the government or any government-owned or controlled corporation or in any of their subsidiaries.”
Sanction
Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Esgana was directed by the Ombudsman to implement the sanction against Cabrera.
The issue stemmed from a complaint filed by Benjamin Pacilan who claimed that Cabrera appointed Regalado Landao as barangay treasurer on Dec. 1, 2010 or six months after the elections.
Landao ran for a seat in the barangay council of Talisay in Sta. Fe during the May 2010 elections.
He lost.
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