Lanao Sur mayor cries foul over ‘false reports’ on dimissal order

by: MARIZ REVELES /GMANews.TV

Dismissed Balabagan town mayor of Lanao del Sur on Friday lashed out at some onlinemedia for falsely reporting that the order by the Office of the Ombudsman for herdismissal includes the cancellation of her eligibility and perpetual disqualification from holding office and forfeiture of her retirement benefits.

Mayor Edna Ogka-Benito, who is medical doctor by profession, told GMA News Online that, "I was dismayed and humiliated by the baseless reports."

Citing the Ombudsman Order on Case No. OMB-M-A-15-0090, Benito said: “There were no words from the order that says “cancellation of eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of benefits. The only statements were “accessories penalties.”

^{Photo of a part of the Ombudsman dismissal order against Mayor Edna Ogka-Benito of Balabagan town in Lanao del Sur.}

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She said that some media reports on Sept. 26, 2016  said that, "Aside from dismissal from service, Ogka-Benito was also meted the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, and forfeiture of retirement benefits."

Also, Mayor Benito said she "might sue the people who could be behind this character assassination for issuing baseless and irresponsible reports because of the mental anguish brought by such reports."

On the other hand, she also lashed out at the Ombudsman for "immediately implementing  the order without giving due regard to her position paper" and the Department of Interior and Local government (DILG) for enforcing it.

“I did not mind to seek  the rule of condonation under the "Aguinaldo Doctrine " which says that if the guilty public official will be elected, administrative cases will dropped.  

"I was elected and was given fresh mandate by my constituents," Benito said.

Moreover, she said that the irresponsible reports have great effect on her, especially that she cannot afford to give up her profession as medical doctor. “I did not acquire this profession from my political practices.”

She said that her case is now with  the Court of Appeals pending "petition  for review.”

The Ombudsman ordered Mayor Benito dismissed after finding her guilty of grave misconduct for ignoring the established rules on payment of salaries and leave approval.

In its decision, the Ombudsman directed the Regional Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to implement the order, which is "immediately executory notwithstanding any motion for reconsideration or appeal."

Benito’s offense stemmed from her failure to act on the leave application and payment of back salaries of municipal budget officer Sarahlyn Masbod in 2014.

But Benito argued that: “I required all the employees to submit their original appointment and  I required her to produce a copy of her [Masbod] appointment as municipal budget officer, but  she did not show credible proof of the appointment.

She said that the complainant instead filed a vacation leave and sick leave applications through snailmail, which Benito said she did not act on because she was already "absent without leave" (AWOL)  and she was already dropped from the roll that affirmed through a memorandum by the Sagguniang Bayan through Resolution No.41.

But the Ombudsman ruled in favor of the complainant citing  RA 3019, which states that "it is unlawful for any public officer to neglect or refuse to act without sufficient justification for a reasonable time after due demand or request has been made..." —