• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Calatrava Mayor Marilyn Era was found guilty by the Committee of the Whole of the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan of grave abuse of authority and gross negligence of duty, for the termination of services of two medical consultants at the Calatrava Municipal Hospital, although their contracts have not yet expired.
The Committee of the Whole, acting as a quasi-judicial body, penalized Era with suspension for two successive months.
However, in consideration of the need for continuity in the provision of public service to the people of Calatrava, the mayor was fined equivalent to two months of her monthly salary in lieu of the penalty of suspension, the amount payable to complainant doctors, Lewyn Torres and Kristine Ureta, in accordance with the existing rules and law in the implementation of the execution of the decision of the quasi-judicial body, which was signed by Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer.
Records of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan showed that Torres and Ureta were hired as medical consultants of the Calatrava Municipal Hospital for the period of three months, starting from April 1 to June 30, 2024, through a memorandum of agreement signed between them and municipality of Calatrava, represented by Mayor Era.
In the last month of their consultancy services, the complainants said they were informed by Chief of Hospital, Dr. Ellen Lumanog, that they will not be receiving any scheduled rotation for the month of June.
Complainants wrote a letter to Era, asking for clarification. However, they got no response from the local chief executive. This prompted Torres and Ureta to submit their complaint-affidavit to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, which was referred to the Committee on Laws, Rules and Ordinances, chaired by Sixto Teofilo Roxas Guanzon Jr.
During the preliminary conference presided by Board Member Guanzon, it was decided that the complaint against respondents, Dr. Ellen Lumanog and Jeric Ryan Belargo should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, as the quasi-judicial body is not the forum for complaints against non-elected officials, as enunciated in the Section 61.b of the Local Government Code of 1991.
Complainants argued that their exclusion for the month of June work schedule amounted to the pre-termination of their service contract. Both also claimed that by not responding to their queries regarding their work schedule, Mayor Era showed disregard for due process and neglect of duty, SP records indicated.
The complainants were not given a work schedule for the month of June because their services were no longer needed, according to Atty. Ariel Malunes, counsel of Mayor Era. However, it was found out by the SP committee that no written notice was served upon them to inform them that their services are no longer needed.
Respondents invoked the Arias Doctrine, which allows the public official to rely on subordinates in good faith for certain administrative functions, arguing that her responsibility to respond was delegated to the staff attributing the responsibility to them, rather than the mayor.
In the signing of Memorandum of Agreement, it was the respondent, Mayor Era, and not any of her subordinates, who signed the MOA as first party, the SP committee said.
There was no showing that the respondent Mayor Era actually delegated the task of dealing with the complainant-doctors to any of her subordinates when they questioned their work assignments. The only thing the subordinates did for the respondent Mayor, was to block access to the complainant-doctors, the SP decision further said.*
