ILOILO City – Another complaint against Mayor Jerry Treñas and several other officials here have been dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a ruling dated January 2021 and received only last week by the City Mayor’s Office, the Ombudsman dismissed for insufficiency of evidence the criminal charge filed by then city government employee Joe Marie Esteral for alleged grave coercion, without prejudice to the administrative charges for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, grave misconduct, oppression and unfair discrimination due to party affiliation or preference.
Also cleared were City Administrator Melchor Tan, City Legal Officer Edgardo Gil, General Services Officer Joren Sartorio, City Civil Registry assistant department head Cherrie Ampig, and executive assistants Fernando Jose Rice and Rudiver Jungco.
The complaint of Esteral stemmed from his reassignment from the Civil Registry Office to the city’s sanitary landfill facility in Calajunan, Mandurriao.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
In September 2019, Esteral was slapped with a 60-day suspension while facing investigation for alleged gross insubordination, grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty for defying the reassignment order of the city mayor.
Esteral, a civil registry office bookbinder reassigned to the city’s dumpsite, received the suspension order on Sept. 25, 2019. He started serving his suspension the next day.
Esteral was reassigned to the dumpsite in August. On Sept. 19, he returned to the civil registry office even without an order to do so.
Read part of Treñas’ formal charge as disciplining authority: “Upon evaluation of available records or documents, and after due consideration of the foregoing, the undersigned finds that prima facie case exists against Joe Marie Esteral for committing gross insubordination, grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty.”
Esteral’s refusal to obey the reassignment order and his unilateral return to his mother unit amounted to gross insubordination which warranted disciplinary action, Treñas stressed.
Esteral’s suspension came a week after he hauled Treñas to the Office of the Ombudsman for grave coercion, grave misconduct, oppression, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and unfair discrimination due to affiliation.
“The failure and refusal of Esteral to report to the office or unit where he was assigned constitute flagrant and palpable of breach of duty because it amounts to defiance of a lawful and valid order issued, which order enjoys and presumption of regularity,” according to Treñas.
Esteral slammed his suspension. He described it as “panghingabot.”
According to Esteral, his reassignment which took effect on Aug. 20 was inconsistent with his mandated duties as Bookbinder II.
He was eventually dismissed from service for the said offenses.
Earlier, the Ombudsman dismissed for lack of probable cause and lack of substantial evidence, respectively, the complaints of another former city hall employee Rosita Camacho against Treñas for grave coercion and corrupt practices, and for grave misconduct, oppression and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service./PN
