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Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Ombud rules: Fire former LTO director
By Karlon N. Rama
CEBU -- The anti-graft office came up with a decision that may spell the end of the road for Land Transportation Office (LTO) director Porferio Mendoza's career in government service.
In a 14-page joint ruling released Monday, Deputy Ombudsman Primo Miro found Mendoza liable for grave misconduct and resolved to dismiss him, together with two others, from office.
A fourth respondent, Oscar Peque of the LTO operations division, was found guilty of simple misconduct and was slapped with a reprimand.
The complaint against them stemmed from the issuance of documents for the registration of vehicles in 2002.
Mendoza, in an interview Monday night, said he intends to appeal the decision, adding he never expected to get a fair shake before the ombudsman.
"This is the same office which preventively suspended me for six months even before I knew that a complaint had been filed against me; even before I was given the chance to air my side," he told Sun.Star.
If the administrative decision becomes final and executory, Mendoza, together with Marilyn Erederos and Catalina Alingasa, will be fired from the LTO and barred from holding any other post in government.
Under the ombudsman procedures, Mendoza has 15 days to submit a motion for reconsideration or elevate his case before the Court of Appeals (CA).
The complaints against Mendoza were filed in September 2002 with Miro, a few days after, ordering that he be placed under preventive suspension for six months.
Mendoza's preventive suspension resulted in people scrambling for his post, which was subsequently given to Alex Leyson, who is acting director until now.
While the anti-graft office in January last year lifted the preventive suspension, LTO assistant secretary Roberto Lastimoso refused to reinstate him and placed him on floating status up to now.
Mendoza said the investigation of the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas was "a farce from the start."
"I expected that the outcome would be like this. That is why I laid low during the investigation. It was pointless anyway. I am happy that now, at least, I have the chance to go into another venue, one that I hope will be more fair," he said Monday night.
Miro, upon the recommendation of Graft Investigator Corazon Arnado-Carrillo, found basis in the consolidated allegations of eight individuals who executed affidavits detailing how Erederos and Alinga-sa demanded money from them in exchange for blank confirmation certificates, a requirement in the registration of new or reconstructed motor vehicles.
The eight, identified as Maricar Huete, representing of GCY Parts; Ernesto Cantillas, Isuzu Cebu Inc.; Leonardo Villaraso, TBS Trading; Romeo Climaco, Penta Star Integrated Services; Rova Carmelotes, AZC Trading Center; Mildred Regidor, Grand Ace Commercial; Estrella dela Cerna, JRK Automotive Supply; and Vivencia Pedroza, Winstar Motor Sales, said the certificates were supposed to be free.
They said they were forced to pay because, without the certificates, the cars they are selling can't be sold.
"This office believes that Alingasa collected P2,500 per pad of confirmation certificates and gave the collections to Erederos who, in turn, remitted the amount to Mendoza. The demand to collect such amount for each pad is obviously upon instruction of the latter," the ombudsman said.
"Erederos and Alingasa, who are under the control of Mendoza, are not crazy and will not dare to collect such amount if this is without the order of their boss," it added.
Mendoza said that all eight complainants raised the same allegation about how the certificates were being sold, but no one ever gave proof supporting their allegation.
None of the eight, he said, even appeared during the preliminary conferences that the anti-graft office called and that, instead, some later executed affidavits admitting they had "no evidence whatsoever to support the allegations."
"There is no evidence except the assertions of the complainant. But, even then, the ombudsman isn't listening. They are interpreting the allegations as facts," Mendoza said.
(February 17, 2004 issue)
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