ILOILO City – A city government regular employee filed criminal and administrative complaints against Mayor Jerry Treñas and six other city officials before the Office of the Ombudsman for pulling him out of the city civil registry office and reassigning him to the dumpsite in Barangay Calajunan, Mandurriao district.
Among his new tasks, according to Joe Mari Esteral, were to count the number of dump trucks that unload garbage at the dumpsite and record the weights of these trucks.
Esteral accused Treñas of grave coercion, grave misconduct, oppression, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and unfair discrimination due to affiliation.
The other respondents were City Administrator Melchor Tan, City General Services Office head Joren Sartorio, City Legal Officer Edgardo Gil, Iloilo City Civil Registry assistant department head Cherry Ampig, and Treñas’ executive assistants Fernando Jose Rico and Rudiver Junco Sr.
Esteral also furnished President Rodrigo Duterte and the Civil Service Commission copies of his complaints.
According to Esteral his reassignment which took effect on Aug. 20 was inconsistent with his mandated duties as Bookbinder II.
He learned about his reassignment from Sartorio, he stated in his complaint.
Sartorio, he claimed, told him, “Jom, bal-an mo na gid na, Jom. Sa babaw na. Wala ko mahimo. Akig gid si Mayor kag si Melchor kay boss mo Johncee. Siguro damay ka lang di, pero kay boss mo gid sila akig kag sa ila grupo.”
“I was ordered re-assigned not in the name of public service but because of politics or because of the recently concluded election or my affiliation to Mr. Romeo C.L. Manikan, my then boss at the City Registrar’s Office,” read part of Esteral’s complaint-affidavit.
Esteral further claimed that on Aug. 30, Junco and Rico talked to him.
“Cooperate ka tani, pre,” he quoted Junco as allegedly telling him.
Rico, on the other hand, asked him, “Ano nabal-an mo sa mga anomaliya ni Manikan? Dala ka di sa kaso,” he stated in his Ombudsman complaint.
According to Esteral, Junco further told him, “Buligi lang kami ma-pin down ang mga Manikan! Balik ka dayon sa mother unit mo. Balik man si misis mo.”
Tan, Sartorio, Gil, Ampig, Rico and Junco could not be reached for comment as of this writing.
Treñas, on the other hand, said, “Mahulat na lang ko ‘ya. Kon pasabton kita, ti masabat kita.”
However, he stressed he does not know Esteral personally and had not talked to him.
As to the detailing of city hall personnel, Treñas insisted that due process were always followed.
“Ang mga detail tanan naga-agi sa proceso kon may mga kinanglan ang mga departments. Nagalab-ot na sa akon sa approval na lang. Indi gani ko kadumdom kon san-o ko na napirmahan, kon napirmahan ko gid man,” Treñas said./PN
