• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Office of the Ombudsman has found Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo and two other town officials guilty of grave abuse of authority and neglect of duty, in connection with the denial of access to government services.
Yulo; Warren Jocson, the officer-in-charge of the Business Permit and Licensing Office; and Archie Montelibano, Human Resource and Management Officer – designate of the Moises Padilla municipal government, were each ordered to pay a fine equivalent to six months of their respective salaries.
The amount may be deducted from their retirement benefits or leave credits, and will be payable to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The imposition of fines to the respondents stemmed from the complaints of Ramona Nalagon Villaflor, owner of the Luz Agustin Nalagon Memorial Homes (Nalagon MH), that provides funeral services in Moises Padilla and neighboring towns, who alleged that the respondents did not issue her a business permit, despite full compliance with all the regulatory requirements.
Montelibano and Jocson, in their respective counter-affidavits, said that the complainant and her sister, Luzviminda Nalagon Leano, submitted their respective applications for a business permit, with the same address of a funeral parlor located at Barangay 4 Poblacion, Moises Padilla, which confused them.
They said they cannot be faulted in holding the issuance of the business permit in abeyance, while determining the completeness of the documents submitted by both parties, stressing that they only exercised due diligence in the performance of their duty as public officers, who are expected to perform their functions in good faith.
By failing to act on the complainant’s application for renewal of her business permit for several months, on the ground that the complainant’s sister was simultaneously applying for the same business permit involving the same business and location, they should be held administratively liable for grave abuse of authority and neglect of duty, the Ombudsman said.
The Ombudsman said it finds substantial evidence against respondents for violation of Section 21(e) of RA 11032, amending RA 9485 for failing to render government services with the prescribed processing time on any application, or request without due cause.
The Ombudsman noted that the complainant applied for the renewal of her business permit in January 2023, but was denied only in June of the same year, or five months later, which is well beyond the maximum processing time prescribed under RA 11032.
Villaflor is a relative of former Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ian Villaflor, who ran against and was defeated by Yulo in the Moises Padilla mayoral race in the recently concluded May elections.
The Ombudsman decision, which was dated February 20 this year, was only made available to the public on August 6, and copies were also circulated in the local and social media.
Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo yesterday said that they will file a Motion for Reconsideration with the Office of the Ombudsman on its decision.
“This is one of the challenges we face in public service. We cannot please everybody, and there may indeed be complaints, but this will not weaken us in our commitment in serving for the good of the many,” Yulo said.*
