THE Sandiganbayan granted the application for probation of a former city mayor in the province who was convicted for the dismissal of local government employees in 1998.

Based on a resolution dated May 17 and released on Thursday, May 23, the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division placed former Cadiz City mayor Eduardo Varela under a four-year probation.

Varela’s application for probation is subject to the conditions the graft court has imposed.

“Upon perusal of the post-sentence investigation report, the court finds the recommendation for granting of the probation of Varela to be well-taken,” the Sandiganbayan in its decision, said.

Varela was also required to report to his probation and parole officer at least twice a month and is not allowed to change his address without prior approval from the officer or court.

The former official must also secure a written permit from the officers or from the Fifth Division in case he intends to travel for more than 30 days.

He was directed to render community service and participate in tree-planting activities, secure employment, and refrain from associating with groups or persons with questionable character, among others.

Varela was convicted by the Sandiganbayan for violating Republic Act 6656, which protects the security of tenure of civil service personnel, after firing 166 employees in 1998 as part of the reorganization of the city government.

After the dismissal, Varela has hired 101 new personnel, prompting 19 of the fired employees to file a complaint against him.

The employees later got a favorable ruling from the Civil Service Commission.