BUTUAN City–The Office of the Ombudsman has the dismissed criminal and administrative complaints filed by the general manager of the Butuan City Water District (BCWD) against the city’s former vice mayor and 10 councilors.
The ombudsman also dismissed the accusation of libel against the respondents, including this paper, in connection with a Feb. 27, 2015 report about city hall officials seeking the suspension of the BCWD executive. The news report was authored by correspondent Ben Serrano.
The 10-page resolution, approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, cleared former vice mayor Angelo Victor Calo and Derrick Plaza, Virgilio Nery Jr., Ferdinand Nalcot, Erwin Dano, Rema Burdeos, Ryan Anthony Culima, Jaime Martinez Cenbrano Jr., Ramon Pajarillo, Carampatana, Samuel Allan Magdamo, and Sergio Cortez Pascual. Of the 10, only Plaza, Nalcot and Burdeos were reelected in the May elections.
The complaint was filed by BCWD general manager Anselmo Sangtian who took offense in the passage of a city council and a subsequent story about it that was published by this paper.
City council Resolution no. 084-2015 called for an investigation into BCWD’s deals.
The ombudsman stated the city council resolution did not impute any crime and “the proposed suspension from office of Engr. Sangtian was also for his benefit so he could concentrate in answering the complaints against him.”
It also found no malice in the call for Sangtian’s investigation, pointing out that the proposed suspension was not baseless and were in fact due to the executive’s inactions.
It noted that Sangtian failed to update the city council about the BCWD’s undertakings and submit reports about its expansion project despite repeated notices.
The “omissions were interpreted as flagrant display of utter disrespect to the legislative body,” reads part of the ombudsman’s resolution.
The resolution said that since the city council resolution was not libelous, its publication in the Gold Star Daily was also not libelous.
The ombudsman also dismissed the administrative charges for grave abuse of authority, dishonesty and oppression against the respondents.
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