Mayor obeys Ombud order, dismisses 4 city employees

BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia complied with the order of the Office of the Ombudsman–Visayas by dismissing four out of the six city employees who were found guilty of an administrative case filed by the Commission on Audit during the time of former mayor Joy S. Valdez.

Leonardia, through City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan, received the official order from the graft investigating body last July 5 and immediately issued a memorandum on the same day ordering employees Ricardo Dahildahil Jr., Salvacion Ortega, Eduardo Ravena and Lalaine Villalva dismissed from service.

Dahildahil, Ortega and Ravena were on leave, while Villalva refused to receive the order as the case is on appeal.

Pioquito Quiñones and Renato Rojo, who are the two other respondents in the case, are already deceased.

The case involved the tampering of receipts during the incumbency of Valdez.

It was a big issue then when the official receipts and their duplicates bore different costs. A separate case was filed against the former mayor before the Sandiganbayan.

Bayatan said that in the event that the motion for reconsideration filed by the subject respondents are reversed in favor of them, the city will surely reinstate them.

In the meantime, the city will obey the decision, he said. (Carla N. Canet)