Ombudsman orders dismissal of Pichay for LWUA fund misuse

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal from duty of Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) chairman Prospero Pichay and two other officials for their misuse of the agency’s funds to acquire a troubled thrift in 2008. Acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro signed a decision finding Pichay, acting administrator Daniel Landingin and acting deputy administrator Wilfredo Feleo liable for grave misconduct for their “unlawful disbursement" of P780-million LWUA funds to invest in the Laguna-based thrift bank Express Savings Bank Inc. (EXSBI). The decision stemmed from a case filed by LWUA employee Rustico Tutol against the agency’s top officials. Casimiro ordered the immediate removal of the three LWUA executives from their posts, their perpetual disqualification from public office and the forfeiture of all their benefits. In the decision, Casimiro said Pichay illegally invested in EXSBI without any memorandum of agreement and without authority from the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The Department of Finance also found Pichay’s investment “inconsistent with the thrusts and policies of the government." LWUA, a government-owned and -controlled corporation, is a specialized lending institution for the promotion, development, and financing of local water utilities, and a depository of the reserves for capital improvement of local water utilities. - VVP, GMA News