A “CODE of procedures for the prosecution of public officials” must be put in place to avoid overlapping of jurisdiction by agencies, said former governor Pablo Garcia, who was just proclaimed as congressman of Cebu’s second district.
Garcia said there is “confusion” right now on the prosecution of public officials, considering the many existing laws on the matter.
He cited the Local Government Code which mandates Provincial Boards to investigate erring municipal officials and the Office of the President for provincial officials.
The procedures in the Local Government Code, however, are not being followed because of other available means such as those before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The conflict of jurisdiction does not only end between the Local Government Code and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, he added, because there are also other rules governed by cases lodged before the Sandiganbayan.
He said that for the suspension of public officials, for example, the Sandiganbayan must conduct a hearing first to determine the sufficiency of information and if warranted, the Sandiganbayan will suspend an official for three months.
Define jurisdiction
But with the Office of the Ombudsman, an official can be suspended for six months even with just a mere fact-finding investigation, said Garcia.
“Right now there is a need to iron out jurisdiction. Na-balewala ang process sa Local Government Code which gives an official time to answer. With the code of procedures, we will define og unsa ang jurisdiction para wala nay overlapping,” Garcia said in a telephone interview.
Moreover, he cited procedures of other agencies that are part of the confusion, such as that of the Civil Service Commission and the Department of Interior and Local Government which exercises supervisory powers over the local government units.
“Until now these are not clear so we should rationalize these,” he said.
Other priorities of Garcia include the giving of salaries to barangay officials instead of mere honorarium that they are receiving, and the creation of additional districts for Cebu. (JPM)
