Elot files graft plaint against Puntod chair

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

CITY accountant Beda Joy Elot has filed a graft complaint against the barangay chairman behind the case that resulted in an order by the Office of the Ombudsman to suspend her, Mayor Oscar Moreno and city budget officer Percy Salazar for three months.

Elot filed the complaint against Puntod barangay chairman Marvin Beja for grave/serious misconduct, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service based on the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

In her eight-page July 19 complaint, a copy of which was secured by this paper yesterday, Elot asked the ombudsman to slap Beja with a preventive suspension order as it looks into whether or not the barangay chairman violated the law.

Elot alleged that Beja caused the release of year-end bonuses in Puntod thrice in 2014. The total release amounted to P553,017.

She said the first release, amounting to P89,169.50, was made on May 27, 2014; the second, amounting P89,169.50 was made on Oct. 21, 2014; and the third, amounting to P178,339, was made on Dec. 8, 2014.

The fund releases were “highly irregular,” said Elot.

She said the rule is that year-end bonuses and cash gifts may only be granted to public officials not earlier than May, and the remainder should be granted not earlier than Nov. 15 of the same year.

“Respondent however granted release and received these benefits in May and the other half thereof as early as October 2014,” Elot said.

It was Beja who filed the complaint for misconduct against Elot, Salazar and Moreno that resulted in a three-month suspension order against the city officials.

In his complaint, Beja accused the officials of leasing the house of former Misamis Oriental provincial board member Jimmy Caiña in Upper Macasandig for P35,000 a month without the approval of the city council. The house was used for a city hall training program for boxers from Aug. 1, 2013  to Dec. 31, 2013.

Moreno, Elot and Salazar have filed a motion for reconsideration  before the ombudsman.

Subsequently, in July 12, the three officials filed a 24-page petition for certiorari before the Court of Appeals (CA) to prevent the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) from serving the suspension order from the ombudsman.

Moreno, Salazar and Elot also asked the CA to issue a   temporary restraining or status quo ante order, and a writ of preliminary injunction against the ombudsman’s order.

The officials’ lawyer Dale Bryan Mordeno said the Office of the Ombudsman showed “grave abuse of discretion” when it issued the suspension order. He said his clients violated no law.

Mordeno also asked the appellate court to declare the ombudsman’s Sept. 3, 2015 order null and void.