THE Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao has the highest case disposition rate last year with an average of around 13 dismissals a month that involved high ranking officials.

OMB for Mindanao deputy spokesperson Gil Norman Ciudadano told reporters in a text message on Monday that "the disposition rate of the [OMB] in Mindanao can be attributed to a lot of factors including increase in the cases filed with the office, hiring of new lawyers, and zero backlog order of Ombudsman Morales [where she directed that] by the end of 2015, 2013 and earlier cases should be disposed."

There are 156 public officers dismissed from service last year, the highest rate ever recorded in the Mindanao Office, according to the OMB’s press statement.

Among those who have been dismissed from service were revealed by the OMB as the former mayor of Labason, Zamboanga del Norte Wilfredo Balais; former mayor of Caraga, Davao Oriental William Duma-an; Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno, Ditsa-an Ramain, Lanao del Sur Mayor Ali Untao Adiong; and Matanao, Davao del Sur Mayor Vicente Fernandez.

OMB also revealed that there were 195 other public officers administratively sanctioned or recommended for sanction with penalties other than dismissal, which are more than two-thirds of the number reported in 2014.

Among these cases, the most common administrative offenses recorded are Grave or Simple Misconduct which is composed of 126 cases, Dishonesty with 55 recorded cases, Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service with 67 cases, Neglect of Duty with 49 cases, violation of R.A. No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officers and Employees) with 16 cases, and Abuse of Authority with 9 cases.

There were also 206 criminal cases and out of this, 76 were recommended for filing of information before the Sandiganbayan and 130 before the regular courts.