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Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Media host pursues charges v. Provincial Board member
By Lizanilla J. Amarga
A MEDIA practitioner would be formally filing raps Tuesday against Misamis Oriental Provincial Board (PB) member Jaime Caiña before the ethics and good governance committee.
The same journalist also slammed Misamis Oriental Governor Oscar Moreno for defending Caiña when he said in an interview that the PB member's actions were just misunderstood.
Joyce Balandra Pabayo, special projects officer of dxCC Radio Mindanao Network (RMN), said Monday that she was still preparing the necessary documents for the charges she would be slapping Tuesday against Caiña.
"If rank and file employees are sanctioned for minor offenses why can't he be punished for this conduct unbecoming of a public official," she said.
Pabayo said the charges would "urge public officials and even private individuals to treat women with respect and value us as human beings not as sex instruments."
"They should respect women as they respect their mother, wife and daughter," she said.
This paper failed to contact Caiña for his side but sources said he is willing to be investigated by his peers should Pabayao file a formal complaint at the ethics committee against him.
Provincial Board chairman Julio Uy and ethics and good governance committee chairman Francisco Bade told media practitioners that they would await Pabayo's formal complaint.
They said the complaint would then be forwarded to the ethics committee that will conduct investigations and hearings on the allegations contained in Pabayo's complaint.
The committee will then make its recommendations to the council plenary as to whether or not Caiña has indeed violated their code of ethical standards and should be sanctioned.
Both officials gave their assurance that they would act on any complaint that would be brought to their ethics committee against Caiña or any other member.
"If dunay reklamo then automatically we will investigate kay ato man kanang obligasyon (If there is a formal complaint then automatically we will investigate because that is our obligation)," the vice-governor said.
When asked as to whether this would bring down the reputation of the PB, Uy said such would not happen unless the ethics committee does not act on Pabayo's complaint.
"The reputation of the PB will not be smeared as this is a personal act of Caiña unless if there is a formal complaint but there are moves to hide the truth or delay the proceedings then that would be the time that the PB's reputation would be ruined," he said in the vernacular.
Pabayo accused Caiña of harassing her when the latter would not stop "coercing" her to go out on a "date."
Pabayo, a special project officer of dxCC-RMN, said she initially took as a joke the invitation of PB Member Jaime Caiña for them to "go out and have a date for an hour."
"He kept on repeating it...naturally I would know if it's meant only as a joke," she said.
Pabayo said the incident occurred when Caiña invited her Monday evening to the official's Capitol Hall office for some "business proposal".
After the proposal was discussed between her and the provincial official, Pabayo said Caiña offered her a ride to the RMN station.
But Caina did not stop asking her to go out, Pabayo alleged. She said she noticed that the official's vehicle didn't show signs of stopping even if they almost reached the RMN headquarters, which is just in front of the Capitol Hall.
Caiña personally went over to ask Pabayo's forgiveness saying he didn't have any ulterior motives when he asked Pabayo out on a date.
Moreno for his part also defended Caiña saying the latter was only misunderstood.
Pabayo said even if Moreno has defended Caiña, still there is the women's group Gabriela, Uy and other PB members.
(July 5, 2005 issue)
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