BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – “Justice has prevailed,” declared Elsa Maternal, municipality of Maasin, Iloilo’s assistant human resource officer whom Mayor Mariano Malones illegally dismissed from the service.
Yesterday, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) adopted the Committee of the Whole’s report finding Malones guilty of simple misconduct and recommending that he be suspended for three months.
Eight Provincial Board members voted to uphold the committee’s findings – Demetrio Sonza, June Mondejar, Carmen Rita Monfort-Bautista, Emmanuel Gallar, Jesus Salcedo, Jeneda Salcedo-Orendain, Paulino Pari-an and Niel Tupas III.
Maternal attended yesterday’s SP session together with her supporters. Malones did not.
“Ang kamatuoran nag gwa na gid man (The truth has finally come out),” said Maternal who initially expressed dissatisfaction over the committee’s decision to hold Malones liable only for simple misconduct.
Before the SP, she accused Malones of gross misconduct, grave abuse of authority, oppression, and dishonesty.
The SP decision is another blow to Malones whom the Civil Service Commission also found to have illegally terminated Maternal and thus ordered him to reinstate her and pay her back wages.
“I’m not rushing for the payment or the reinstatement. What I am after, first and foremost, is justice. My case has merit,” said Maternal.
Two Provincial Board members voted against the Committee of the Whole’s report – Ninfa Garin and Dennis Valencia.
Two others inhibited themselves from the voting – Licurgo Tirador and Shalene Palmares-Hidalgo.
Maternal was illegally terminated in 2002 yet.
The task of suspending Malones is now with the Office of the Governor, although Malones may still appeal the SP decision.
In a previous interview, Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. said that win or lose in the SP, Malones is obliged to reinstate Maternal and pay her back wages.
“I advised him to settle this and come up with a win-win solution,” said Defensor.
Since the position has been abolished, Malones should look for any equivalent position for Maternal, he added.
Also under the law, the municipal government should pay the five years’ back wages of Malones since she was terminated while the remaining years would be paid by the mayor himself.
Defensor hopes the Sangguniang Bayan of Maasin will help Malones in the appropriation of funds for Maternal’s back wages.
Malones tried to stall the SP from making a decision yesterday. But the Provincial Board denied his urgent motion to defer consideration of the committee report and recommendation, and motion to set a formal hearing.
According to Board member Mondejar, similar pleadings dated July 10 and July 16, 2014 were already filed by Malones through his counsels and these were denied by the SP.
On April 1, 2014, Maternal and Malones entered into an agreement during the preliminary conference hearing that the case “shall be submitted for decision upon the submission of the parties of their reactive position papers together with their documentary evidence” pursuant to Paragraph B, Section 1, Rule 7 of the Rules of Procedure in the Conduct of Administrative Investigation Against Elective Officials within the Province of Iloilo./PN
