BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Provincial Legal Office (PLO) of Negros Occidental issued a show cause order to the head of the Provincial Disaster Management Program Division (PDMPD).
PLO head, Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr., said Monday morning that PDMPD head, Dr. Zeaphard Caelian, received the order seeking clarifications on the liquidation of a cash grant amounting to P3 million and on the issue on conflict of interest.
Nellas said the order was issued two weeks ago and Caelian already submitted a reply.
“The grant was released to Amity Public Safety Academy in 2017 to conduct training and purchase of equipment,” Nellas said.
He added that Caelian is one of the directors of the organization, a position he simultaneously held while also being the head of PDMPD.
Nellas said the issue is not yet an administrative case, and Caelian is still reporting as PDMPD head.
“This is just an opportunity for him to show that there is no need to file an administrative charge against him,” Nellas pointed out.
Caelian, in his reply to the show cause order, denied the alleged unliquidation of the P3 million and the alleged conflict of interest.
Members of the local media tried to contact Caelian to respond to the allegations; he told reporters that he was not yet ready to make any statements on the issue./PN
