Ombudsman orders dismissal of revenue collection officer in Palawan

A revenue collection officer of Palawan province was ordered dismissed from the service because of P1.9 million in unliquidated cash advances from 2001 to 2005. Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez ordered the dismissal of Marilou Relova, Local Revenue Collection Officer II in Quezon, Palawan, because of P1,904,621.23 in cash advances. "The said amount was intended for the procurement of materials for cultural and economic affairs of the local government, salaries and wages, traveling expenses and other operating expenses," the Office of the Ombudsman said in a news release posted on its website on Monday. Relova was also charged with Malversation of Public Funds under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code. An investigation conducted by the Commission on Audit (COA) showed that Relova permitted the granting of additional cash advances to municipal workers without first liquidating their previous cash advances. The Ombudsman, in an eight-page resolution, junked Relova’s explanation that the cash advance and “vales" she extended to municipal officials and employees for “humanitarian reasons" should not be considered cash advances. Gutierrez said Relova’s “justification that she extended 'vales' to municipal officials and employees for humanitarian reasons did not obliterate the fact that she knowingly acted beyond the scope of her authority." "Said act of the respondent constitute grave misconduct as it involves willful intent to violate the law or to disregard established rules," Gutierrez added. Meanwhile, in a separate case, the Ombudsman ordered the filing of charges against Edgardo Mangahas, Administrative Officer IV of the Municipal Government of Rizal, Nueva Ecija, for graft. A complaint by the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office (FIO), said Mangahas was the custodian of a red Nissan pickup (with plate number SGR 828) owned by the Municipality of Rizal. However, the vehicle was spotted at the Premier Hospital in Cabanatuan City on July 22, 2007, a Sunday, with its driver Sergio Tuapen and four other government employees. "It was used to fetch the said employees, who at that time took the Civil Service Examinations, and afterwards proceeded to the hospital where the passengers visited a patient," the Ombudsman said. The investigation showed the trip was not covered by a Travel Order, while the Driver’s Trip Ticket did not include the date when it was seen at the hospital. In a nine-page Resolution, the Ombudsman said Mangahas as the custodian of the vehicle had the “duty to see to it that the same be used in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations… [a]s the legal custodian thereof, it was his right, just as much as his obligation, to keep its keys." The Ombudsman added that had Mangahas taken hold of the keys, the driver “could not have taken the same and used it for his own activities. "Evidently, Tuapen Sr. was able to use the vehicle because he had possession of, or at the very least, had been given by respondent unbridled access to the keys," she said. The Ombudsman also ordered Mangahas’ one month suspension from office, without pay, for violation of The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. She likewise ordered the filing of charges against Tuapen for the unauthorized use of the government-owned vehicle. – VVP, GMANews.TV