By Mortz C. Ortigoza
BINMALEY – The mayor here who faces
two administrative cases at the Sangguniang Panlungsod (provincial board)
assails the argument of the lawyer of his complainant Leon Castro that he
violated the law by appointing his relative as the administrator of this town.
Mayor Simplicio Rosario rebutted the
argument of lawyer Manuel Manuel that he ran roughshod with the Code of Conduct
and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees when he
appointed lawyer and this town’s administrator Herminio Escat, his relative
within the third degree of affinity.
“Kung i-appoint mo ng permanently
that’s bawal but if the appointing authority is co-terminus with the appointee
puwedi po iyan. Wala namang masama diyan. Ano naman ang kukunin ko na maging
empleyado ko kung hindi ko mapag-katiwalaan,” he stressed in Filipino.
Mayor Rosario cited the case of
Dagupan City former Mayor Al Fernandez when he appointed his son Alvin as his
chief of staff in running the affairs of the city.
“So kailangan iyong i-appoint mo na
confidante mo. Kung ano ang pagkakamali niya doon sagot mo (as mayor)”.
Escat is the husband of the mayor‘s
niece Maricel who is also his secretary.
Maricel’s mother Felicitas is
Rosario’s sister.
Manuel and Castro in press
statements assailed the appointment of Escat as a patent violation of the Code
of Conduct .
In the Code’s Rule VII public
disclosure’s clause it says that every official or employee shall identify and
disclose under oath to the best of his knowledge and information, his relatives
in the government , up to the fourth civil degree of relationship, either of
consanguinity or affinity, including bilas, inso , and balae, in the prescribed
form, Annex A, which shall be filed; (a) within thirty (30) days after
assumption of office, the information contained therein must be reckoned as of
his first day of office;(b) on or before April 30 of every year thereafter, the
information contained therein must be reckoned as of the end of the preceding
year; or (c) within thirty (30) days after separation from the service.
Manuel told the media that Escat
lied on his notarized personal data sheet he submitted to the local government
unit here when he said he is a resident of No. 38 San Isidro Norte when he is a
resident of the United States of America as a green card holder, and answered
“No” when asked in the sheet if he is related within the 4th degree
of consanguinity and affinity to the appointing or recommending authority that
was the mayor.
Rosario rebuffed Manuel in citing at
the hearing called by the provincial board the case of Caasi versus the
Commission on Election.
Caasi versus Comelec was about the
disqualification case of mayoral candidate of Bolinao, Pangasinan Mateo Caasi
against Merito Miguel - his rival.
Caasi said Miguel was a green card
holder and thus disqualified to run for the top public post of the town. The
Supreme Court favored Caasi saying Miguel’s immigration to the United States in
1984 constituted an abandonment of his domicile and residence in the
Philippines thus his disqualification to run for the mayoralty. Rosario explained
that Manuel’s Caasi’s argument was off tangent as the latter ran for the
mayoralty while his case at the provincial board involved his appointment of
Escat.
“This is pure harassment! Hindi nila
matangap na tinalo ko sila,” he insinuated against his political rivals in and
outside of this town whom he suspected to undermine his post.
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