Thursday, September 11, 2008 DILG asks papers from Jonas, Carlo
THE case Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes filed against opposition Councilor Victor Biaño at the Office of the President is now being investigated by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Cortes has accused Biaño of committing an offense involving moral turpitude, referring to a child support case filed against the councilor and a separate charge for falsification of his child’s birth certificate.
DILG Legal Services officials came to Cebu last Sept. 1 for a preliminary conference and gave both officials 30 days to file their position papers, Regional Director Pedro Noval said in a press release.
option
They have the option to comment on the position papers within 10 days after they receive a copy.
All position papers and comments will be submitted to DILG Legal Services for evaluation. It will then submit its recommendation and decision to the Office of the President, which may concur with it or reverse it.
The court is yet to resolve a child support case that Fatima Calledo-Quilaton earlier filed against Biaño.
City midwife Grace Flores filed another case against Biaño for alleged falsification of the birth certificate of his child. This got used as evidence in the Quilaton case.
Flores alleged that Biaño married Ellen Quimera on Feb. 22, 2005 and not on Sept. 28, 1984, as stated in the birth certificate of their child, born in 2001.
What might otherwise be a private matter drew the public’s eye in the midst of disagreements between Cortes and Biaño, especially over infrastructure projects and the use of government funds. (OCP)
