Ombudsman- Mindanao metes out dismissal to 156 public officers

DAVAO CITY Feb. 10 (PIA)- About 156 public officers has been dismissed from service by the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao (OMB-MIN) last year (2015).

The number is the highest so far recorded at the Omb-Min office. Included among the dismissed include five Mayors (one city and 4 municipal mayors), one regional director and one deputy provincial officers.

The number equates to about 13 public officers dismissed every month.

Among the Mayors meted out with dismissal from office were the Mayors of Cagayan de Oro City, the towns Matanao (Davao del Sur), Ditsa-an Ramain (Lanao del Sur), Caraga (Davao Oriental) and Labason (Zamboanga del Norte).

Also dismissed from service include 10 local executive officers from the town of Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte which included 2 municipal councilors. The offense stems from cash advances which were not supported by proper documents and remain unliquidated for 10 to 15 years.

 Also in previous year (2015) there were 195 other officials meted out with administrative sanctions or recommended for sanctions other than the penalty of dismissal.

Among the common administrative offenses of these public officials are Grave or Simple Misconduct (126 cases); Dishonesty (55 cases); Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service (67 cases); Neglect of Duty (49 cases); violation of R.A. No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officers and Employees) (16 cases); and Abuse of Authority (9 cases).

The Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao  also recommended the filing of Information (complaint) against public officers from the 206 criminal cases in 2015. This is higher compared to 146 in 2014.

About 76 of these cases recommended the filing of information before the Sandiganbayan (compared to 26 in 2014) while 130 cases before the regular courts (compared to 120 in 2014).

In the 206 cases in 2015, the Deputy Ombudsman approved 125 cases involving Lower Ranking Officers (compared to 120 in 2014) while 81 cases involving HROs (compared to 26 in 2014) were recommended for approval or approved by the Honorable Ombudsman.

Violations of R.A. No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) top the list of common criminal offenses with 97 cases. This is followed by Malversation (71 cases); violations of R.A. No. 6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials (27 cases); and Falsification (25 cases). (PIA/RG Alama with reports from Omb-Min)