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Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Fire chief ordered sacked for graft
By Karlon N. Rama
CEBU -- The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas has ordered the dismissal of a fire department official who, in 1992, allegedly pocketed almost half a million pesos in his firefighters’ hazard pay.
Deputy Ombudsman Primo Miro, upon the recommendation of Graft Investigator Gaudioso Melendez, dismissed Roberto Pardenilla, currently chief of the Danao City Fire Department.
With his dismissal, Pardenilla will also be unable to get whatever benefits he may have lawful claim to, considering his years in government service. He will also be disqualified from holding any other position in government.
“I am willing to fight this all the way to the highest court,” Pardenilla said in a telephone interview Tuesday night.
Pardenilla said he had distributed the money to all entitled personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7, where he worked as regional disbursing officer.
The anti-graft office, in an earlier resolution, also filed a criminal case against him before the Regional Trial Court (RTC). This is still pending.
In its administrative decision dismissing Pardenilla from service, the anti-graft office found him guilty of embezzling a total of P490,000 in 1992.
Survey only
He allegedly falsified the payroll to make it appear that the money had already been distributed as hazard pay for all 700 firefighters in the region, at P700 each.
He filed a motion for reconsideration on the administrative findings, claiming there is “no substantial evidence” to support the decision that was based solely on “a survey eliciting information that happened 10 years ago.”
Miro, in an order released last Aug. 13, denied the motion for reconsideration and, insiders reveal, is in the process of issuing an order of implementation.
The anti-graft office’s investigation against Pardenilla stemmed from the complaint, initiated by the Commission on Audit (COA), for dishonesty.
COA conducted a special audit inquiry on the disbursement and, finding irregularities, lodged the formal complaint before the anti-graft office.
While Pardenilla claims to have already released the money to its intended beneficiaries, 86 firefighters from the region, which COA polled at random, confirmed not having received their hazard pay for that year.
Irregularities
Pardenilla, however, explained Tuesday night that when the audit commission conducted the survey, it did not specify what it was for.
COA allegedly just asked the firefighters if they received their hazard pay or not.
“The firefighters thought that if they said no, they would get more money. That’s why they answered no,” said Pardenilla.
“Ako sila nga gipangutana, niingon man sila nga gi-blind ra sila. Wa man gud pangalan nga gibutang ang COA. Kun kahibalo pa kuno sila nga para nako to nga survey, di gyud unta sila mopirma (They told me they were misled. Had they known the investigation concerned me, they would not have signed),” Pardenilla further explained.
He went around the different BFP offices and was able to get the statements of more than 200 firefighters testifying in his favor.
But according to COA, a closer look at the payroll also showed irregularities that Pardenilla, during the special investigation, wasn’t able to explain.
Backstabbing?
COA said specimen signatures from a sample population of 118 firefighters did not match the signatures that corresponded to their names in the allegedly falsified payroll.
During the preliminary investigation, Pardenilla chose not to present any witnesses and manifested his intent to have the case decided based on existing evidence.
The anti-graft office eventually ruled against him.
“Respondent misappropriated the amount of P490,000, representing the hazard pay for the BFP 7 personnel and, to hide this misappropriation, he falsified the liquidation payroll,” the anti-graft office said.
Pardenilla suspects the case was backed by some officers in the fire department who want to pin him down, but he refused to say who these officers are.
“Kahibalo na ko kinsa, opisyal sad pero di na lang nako isulti (I know the officials involved, but I’d rather not say who they are),” he said. Sun.Star Cebu
(August 20, 2003 issue)
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