COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY. Gov. Hilario Davide III visits Marites Mirambel, at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. Her fractured leg requires surgery. She lost her husband in a Sept. 14 road accident, where she and Felix got hit by the pick-up truck used by Capitol security chief Loy Anthony Madrigal. (Contributed Photo/Provincial Capitol PIO)
Loy Anthony Madrigal, the controversial security chief of the Cebu provincial government, has resigned along with his secretary, with whom he was allegedly having an affair.
Both sent their letters through an emissary on Sept. 18 to Gov. Hilario Davide III, who accepted them.
Madrigal also surrendered his three service vehicles, including a Mitsubishi Strada pickup truck, that collided with a motorcycle in Bogo City last Sunday, killing the driver and seriously wounding the driver’s wife.
But he has yet to return several firearms issued to him.
The exit came one week after Governor Davide announced that he wanted Madrigal and his secretary, Iris Plasquita Camello, a married casual employee, to resign immediately after photos of the couple sitting close together in an airport were posted on Facebook by an administration critic.
The exposure and the road mishap that followed were a major embarrassment for the Davide administration as it involved an official he had proudly commended for aggressive apprehensions in the anti-illegal fishing campaign.
The Capitol Committee on Discipline and Investigation (CODI) was set to issue Madrigal a show cause order for him to explain why he should not be charged with “immoral conduct in the workplace and gross misconduct arising from the vehicular accident.”
Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino, who heads the CODI, said that with the two resignations, Madrigal is now “cleared from administrative liability” while his relationship with Camello, now becomes a “private matter.”
“Administratively, it’s already moot and academic. We will not investigate anymore,” Tolentino told a press conference yesterday.
“I hope this brings this matter to a close. It was also difficult for us because Loy was a performer and a good member of this office,” he said.
The resignation letter was not shown to the media but provincial information officer Ethel Natera told Cebu Daily News it was “simple” and did not refer to the photos or the accident.
Based on an inventory, Madrigal was issued two shotguns, five .38 cal. revolvers and two 9mm MP9-A5 submachine guns for use of Civil Security Unit personnel and the anti-illegal fishing task force.
Madrigal held a co-terminous position under the Governor’s Office
Madrigal earlier asked the governor to reconsider his call for him to resign and was granted a 20-day leave of absence but Davide later decided to suspend him after the Sept. 14 road accident where Madrigal’s service vehicle collided with a motorcycle carrying Felix and Maritess Mirambel in Bogo City. The husband died a day after.
Provincial General Services Office Head (PGSO) Jone Siegred Sepe said they’re having difficulty contacting Madrigal to ask him to return the firearms.
A letter from the PGSO asking for the turnover of the said items was sent to Madrigal at noon yesterday.
Madrigal, in interviews, pleaded with Capitol officials to let him hold on to the guns for “self-defense” claiming he has been getting threats.
Provincial Administrator Tolentino remained firm on the return of the firearms. He said an ultimatum will be sent to Madrigal if he does not comply with the order.
“Naturally, we would ask him to surrender the firearms because those were issued to him. He has to account for that for clearance purposes,” Tolentino said.
“We would be in a very difficult situation if we allow him to continue holding on to these things…. God forbid if those equipment are used, then the provincial government will have to answer for that,” he added
Madrigal has repeatedly denied he was having an affair with Camello. He said they only had a “working relationship” but the secretary’s estranged husband came forward to complain that his wife left him in January after the security officer courted her with gifts of lingerie, bags, shoes, fresh fish and a refrigerator.
Last Thursday, Governor Davide and other Capitol officials visited Marites Mirambel at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, where the woman will undergo surgery for a fractured leg.
Natera, who went with the governor, said Marites was slowly recovering from the injury.
PB Member Peter John Calderon, Tolentino, social welfare officer Rose Jao were also present during the visit.
The Capitol will continue to shoulder her hospital expenses including the cost of a stainless steel implant for her leg.
The remains of Felix Mirambel were brought to Oslob, his hometown, said Natera. The Capitol spent P51,000 for burial assistance. Natera said the family is only waiting for Marites to be discharged from the hospital before they bury Felix’s body.
Aside from the financial aid, Natera said the Capitol gave two sacks of rice, canned goods, noodles and water to the Mirambel family. Their eldest child, 19-year-old Information Technology (IT) graduate Leslie Mirambel, will be recommended for a job under the Capitol’s employment and services office.