Thursday, June 21, 2007 20 Capitol employees accused of smuggling of documents
AT LEAST 20 Capitol employees are now facing investigation for allegedly campaigning against Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s opponent in the May 14 elections and for smuggling of documents.
Most of those under investigation are regular employees of the Provincial Government.
Garcia met with the employees who are under investigation last Monday to hear their side before the Capitol files appropriate complaints against them.
Capitol consultant on promotion, development, organization and management Manolette Dinsay said the employees will be facing administrative charges.
They may also be criminally charged, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
Some Capitol employees allegedly campaigned for Garcia’s opponent Rep. Antonio Yapha (Cebu, third district) in the last elections.
Dinsay said it is their right to choose the candidate they want to vote for. But because they are government employees, they should not be campaigning for a candidate.
Also, some of them were allegedly caught stealing documents from Capitol, in relation to the construction of the Cebu International Convention Center.
These documents have been used by a commentator to attack Garcia on air and also by businessman Crisologo Saavedra, who has filed complaints against Garcia and Capitol employees before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
But Garcia’s lawyer Rory Jon Sepulveda said they found that what Saavedra filed was just a request for investigation and not a complaint.
Saavedra had said that Sepulveda will be tired of having to defend an indefensible position.
“You are requesting for an investigation. Clearly, you are not sure of whatever factual allegations contained in your affidavits.
How could we defend a request for investigation?... Now I can say that engineer Saavedra, the proclaimed self-crusader on graft and corruption, really has a future in comedy,” Sepulveda said.
The investigation of the 20 employees came as another employee was placed under preventive suspension for at least three offenses.
The suspended employee was allegedly caught selling purchase order cards during office hours and had a verbal and physical encounter with a vendor who tried to collect her dues.
She is also facing an administrative case for usurpation of function.
Dinsay said the employee is facing very serious offenses so she has to be preventively suspended. (MBG)
