Reading our banner story this week might make you feel a sense of déjí vu, French for that feeling of having already experienced a current situation.
But yes, what happened last week, which you are reading about in this issue, is true: Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has again ordered the dismissal of Gov. Roel Degamo, Provincial Treasurer Danilo Mendez, and Provincial Accountant Teodorico Reyes.
And this time around, the name of Provincial Engr. Franco Alpuerto was added to the list, while the Ombudsman cleared the Bids and Awards Committee of wrongdoing.
By now, everyone must be familiar with this case. This is about the calamity fund amounting to P480 million which was intended for infrastructure works following Typhoon Sendong of 2011 and the magnitude 6.9 earthquake of 2012. The national government sent the money to the Provincial coffers but later withdrew the Special Allotment Release Order, and asked the provincial government to return the money.
Instead of returning the money, the Province spent it on the projects the money was intended for, awarding 11 contracts and spending the entire amount. The Province claims that while the amount of P480,755,000 represented only half of the budget, the contractors actually accomplished 64 percent of the work, exceeding expectations by 14 percent.
Exceeding expectations is a good thing. However, the crux of the matter is whether the Province was justified in spending the money by ignoring the directive to return it to the national treasury, and whether the officials involved violated Civil Service Rules.
In this administrative case, the Ombudsman said they violated Civil Service Rules and should be dismissed.
Last year, Interior & Local Government Regional Director Margie Biligan implemented the first Ombudsman order, and installed Vice Gov. Edward Mark Macias as governor by succession. Various tricycle drivers and the Governor’s supporters barricaded the Capitol but the Governor was still unseated. Then, Degamo was reinstated as governor after he was able to secure a 60-day temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals Special Fifth Division on June 23.
With the directive of the Ombudsman to implement the decision within five days from receipt, we can read into the near future and predict with some amount of reasonable certainty that what happened in June last year may happen again soon.
The Governor and his lawyers are confident they can again get a TRO from the Court of Appeals as the case, apart from the issues at bar, is identical with the first one.
This may indeed be déjí vu, so let’s not get too excited or emotional over this one.