5 mayors from Cordillera, Cagayan Valley face raps for absence during ‘Ompong’ onslaught — DILG
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2019 09:26:30 +0000
FIVE mayors based in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Cagayan Valley may face administrative sanctions before the office of the Ombudsman for allegedly being absent in their areas during the onslaught of Typhoon Mangkhut (Ompong) in 2018, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Tuesday.
DILG spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement that these mayors’ excuses were “inadequate and unjustified” based on the DILG investigation.
Some of the excuses were attending a training workshop in Davao, attending a meeting with the League of Municipalities of the Philippines meeting in Davao, and attending a meeting in Malacañang.
Only one mayor was excused for not being present in his post as he had to attend a Sandiganbayan hearing in Quezon City on September 13, 2018, Malaya said.
The DILG issued an order to all mayors before Ompong made a landfall to stay put in their areas so that they may provide immediate help and attain “zero casualties.”
“Despite having knowledge of the impending typhoon and the DILG advisory, said mayors were not in their post during the typhoon. Such act on their part may be considered as dereliction of duty, negligence, or other administrative offense. We have referred their case to the Office of the Ombudsman,” Malaya said.
They previously issued show cause orders against nine mayors from Cagayan Valley and seven from CAR and asked them to explain why they were not present during Ompong.
The DILG also issued a written admonition to six other mayors from its secretary Eduardo Año for disregarding its advisory of being present during calamities and personally supervising evacuation, rescue and relief operations on September 14, 15, and 16, 2018.
“Secretary Año’s directive was very clear. The physical presence of the mayor in his area of responsibility is crucial; his absence adversely affects the operation of the LGU and it is their constituents who suffer,” Malaya said.
Meanwhile, four other mayors are still being revalidated by their respective DILG regional offices.
“Unless they can prove that it is legally and physically impossible to perform their duty during that time, these four mayors may also be found liable,” Malaya said.
Typhoon Ompong left the country with 95 people dead, mostly from CAR and due to landslides, the Philippine National Police said.
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