• THERESA MAE DULMAN
The Bacolod City Government is set to escalate legal actions against former Office of the Building Official (OBO) Officer-in-Charge Engr. Isidro Sun Jr., by the filing of criminal complaints, in addition to ongoing administrative cases.
City Legal Officer (CLO) Atty. Karol Joseph Chiu said that the current case stems from an alleged underdeclaration of building areas, designed to lower permit fees for a specific applicant in 2024.
Sun has been placed under a preventive suspension.
Reports revealed discrepancies in a property in Barangay Cabug, Bacolod City, with an actual area of 4,493.44 square meters but only 2,568 square meters were used in computation sheets and orders of payment to reduce the required business and occupancy permit fees, resulting in undercollection.
Chiu said that a criminal case has been filed against Sun and a retired OBO employee who approved the computation sheet and order of payment.
Regarding the administrative case, Sun will be facing allegations of serious dishonesty, with grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.
“This will send a strong message to our government employees that falsification and the same misconduct of employees will be taken seriously by the mayor,” Chiu said.
This is not Sun’s first brush with administrative penalties as he was previously served with a preventive suspension regarding allegations of irregular approvals and extortion related to occupancy permits in Barangay Mansilingan.
In addition to that, a show cause order was issued to Sun and four other OBO employees last November, for their alleged involvement in issuing a fencing permit for an illegal structure in Barangay Villamonte, Bacolod City.*
