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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Saturday, February 25, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Vice Mayor Romel Yogore of Valladolid, Negros Occidental will seek a temporary restraining order against the dismissal order the Office of the Ombudsman issued against him.
The Ombudsman found Yogore and seven other municipal government officials guilty of grave misconduct. They were also charged with dishonesty, but the case was dismissed for insufficiency of evidence.
Yogore told Panay News in a text message they will raise the decision to the Court of Appeals.
His counsel, Rayfrando Diaz, said they may file an appeal within 15 days starting Feb. 23, when they received the order.
The case stemmed from the alleged awarding of a P649,140 contract for the repair of two mechanical grain dryers without public bidding and the purchase of P300,000 palay seeds without authority from the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) when Yogore was still mayor.
Also ordered dismissed were Municipal Agriculture Officer Giovanni Robles and Bids and Awards Committee members Joseph Alfonso Manayon, Ernesto Genobis, Daisy Galve, Cherryl Aguirre, Merlene Magbanua, and Ramonito Amazona.
If dismissal can no longer be enforced due to a respondent’s separation from government service, the penalty shall be converted into a fine equivalent to the respondent’s one-year salary, the order signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dated Jan. 3.
The amount is payable to the Ombudsman and may be deducted from the respondent’s retirement benefits, accrued leave credits or any receivable from their office, the order stated.
Yogore and Robles argued that public bidding was no longer necessary since Franmar Agro Industrial Sales was the sole authorized distributor of Chung Ching grain dryers and that the disbursements for the purchase of palay seeds was provided for under SB Resolution No. 81, series of 2008.
Aguirre, Manayon and Galve contended that the complaint against them had no factual and legal bases and was grounded on mere conjectures. Amazona, Genobis and Magbanua did not file counter-affidavits./PN
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