• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The Provincial Government of Negros Occidental issued a suspension order against the Provincial Tourism Officer Chery Decena and four of her subordinates who previously worked in Mambukal Mountain Resort for ‘simple neglect of duty.’
Also suspended were four disbursing officers, namely Mark De La Cruz, Ester Jane Ignacio, Alfredo Tolosa III, and April Love Wee.
Decena immediately vacated her office after receiving the order on Tuesday, stressing her respect for due process.
The show cause order was issued due to the alleged failure of remittances and liquidation of cash advances during Decena’s tenure as manager of the provincial government-run Mambukal Mountain Resort.
“The suspension is in regard to the irregularities and delays with the remittances of cash advances resulting in a loss of P3 million for Mambukal,” Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Alberto Nelias Jr. said.
He added that the maximum 6-month suspension without pay was not just for simple neglect of duty, but was aggravated due to the amounts involved.
“It was aggravated because at first it was not just P3 million; it was initially P33 million, but their attention was called, and they were able to collect the income and the other expenses for Mambukal. That is why it was only left with P3 million,” he added, citing the delay of Decena’s office to liquidate funds on time.
EVERYTHING SUBMITTED
Decena spoke to the media to express her concerns regarding the show cause order she received on Tuesday, while she was on leave.
Decena said that contrary to the allegations against them, they had submitted all their liquidations to the accounting office, and it was declared approved prior to the suspension order, which made her question the decision.
“We submitted everything. All the documents we submitted were based on the accounting papers. In fact, when I received the letter on Tuesday, I went to the accounting office, and they even said that the liquidation had already been approved,” she explained.
“I always respect my boss, who is the governor, and they can even check the papers on the accounting department even without talking to me, just to respect the process,” she added, citing the unfairness of the decision towards them.
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
Decena disclosed yesterday that they will file a Motion for Reconsideration, as they called the suspension order ‘unwarranted.’
Meanwhile, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson suggested that the camp of Decena must file their MR directly with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for faster action and investigation.
Lacson also denounced the allegation thrown by Decena that there was ‘harassment’ of provincial employees inside the capitol before they released the suspension order.
“If they feel that way, they can use that for their MR. But that is something they need to prove,” he said.
“We went through a process, and decisions were made, and there was no harassment intended,” Lacson added, as he stood by the decision.*
