BACOLOD City Mayor Evelio Leonardia designated officers-in-charge (OICs) for the City Engineer’s Office (CEO), City Agriculture Office (CAO), and Department of Public Services (DPS) effective Tuesday, February 7.
Leonardia issued Memorandums 25 to 27 dated February 7, 2017, assigning Engineer Noel Impreso, engineer IV, as officer-in-charge of CEO; Ruel Garaygay, public service officer II, as OIC of DPS; and Romeo Garcia Jr., supervising agriculturist IV, as OIC of CAO.
Impreso, Garaygay, and Garcia occupied the posts of City Engineer Belly Aguillon, DPS head Nelson Sedillo Sr., and CAO head Goldwyn Nifras who were earlier dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman after they were found guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty in the procurement of furniture and fixtures for Bacolod Government center amounting to almost P50 million in 2008.
The three are among the nine current and former city executives found guilty along with Leonardia.
The mayor, however, was able to obtain a 60-day temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals Visayas Station 18th Division in Cebu City.
The new OICs are entitled to receive the monthly representation allowance and transportation allowance, and all other privileges allowed under the law.
On Tuesday, the Department of Interior and Local Government served the dismissal order of Aguillon, Sedillo, Nifras, and city engineers Aladino Agbones and Jaries Ebenizer Encabo, BAC Secretariat head Melvin Recabar, former city budget officer Luzviminda Treyes, and former city accountant Eduardo Ravena.
The dismissal order of former city treasurer Annabelle Badajos will be served by the Department of Finance.
Leonardia said his co-accused are still hopeful that their petitions for TRO will be granted.
“When you are waiting for a TRO petition, you cannot determine when it will be released. If their TRO will be granted, they could go back to their posts,” he said.
“We had a series of talks and our issues are not exactly the same. I am an elected official and they are appointed officers. Our main argument is the Aguinaldo doctrine which applies only to elected officials,” Leonardia added.