Ombudsman clears 2 Mandaue village chiefs of SAP anomalies
MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed administrative and criminal charges filed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) against two barangay captains in Mandaue City.
Patricio Soco of Barangay Alang-Alang and Ignacio Cortes II of Barangay Centro were among those accused of committing anomalies in the distribution of the social amelioration program (SAP) in 2020.
They were among the 89 barangay captains in the country who were suspended preventively for six months due to the alleged SAP irregularities.
The two barangay captains received the joint resolution last Friday, May 20, 2022.
The cases were dismissed due to the lack of factual and legal basis, the Ombudsman said.
The cases that were filed by the DILG represented by Undersecretary of Barangay Affairs Martin Dino include serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, abuse of authority, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Cortes said the decision of the Ombudsman proves that there were no anomalies that happened in 2020.
“Nalipay ko nga nigawas gyud ang kamatuuran. Ako segurado lang ko nga tiunay, limpyo akong konsensiya, ” said Cortes.
He said even though the preventive suspension was a bit long, he understands it because it is the protocol and it is part of being a public servant.
While Soco on his Facebook post expressed his gratefulness and happiness for the decision.
“Sa katapusan, ang kamatuuran magpatigbabaw gayud. Taliwala sa mga walay basehan nga pasangil, walay korapsyun sa SAP implementation sa atoang barangay ubos sa akoang administrasyun,” said Soco.
It can be recalled that the government through RA 11469 or the Bayanihan Act had given P5,000 to P8,000 depending on the regional minimum rates to low-income families for two months.
The target beneficiaries were poor families that have no income after the implementation of the lockdown by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19. /rcg
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