THE Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas suspended for one month and a day without pay Lahug, Cebu City Barangay Captain Jovito Taborada, Jr. over the unauthorized use of government vehicle in 2014.
Graft Investigator Darius Sagadal found Taborada liable for simple misconduct for violating the Commission on Audit Circular 75-6 and Section 361 of Government Accounting and Auditing Manual.
The case stemmed from the administrative complaint filed by the Ombudsman-Visayas' Field Investigation Office.
The government vehicle, a Mitsubishi Strada (SKY-348), was spotted near JY Square Mall in Barangay Lahug at 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 20, 2014, a Saturday.
The trip ticket indicated Taborada as the driver of the vehicle and the one who requested and approved the trip ticket.
Replying to the charges, Taborada said they held a cleanup drive that day, and the vehicle was “exhaustively” used in the activity.
Taborada said he instructed his staff to use the vehicle to buy additional supplies and materials needed for their cleanup drive.
He said he forgot to update the trip ticket or issue a new one to cover the vehicle's use because they were busy.
Taborada said the use of the vehicle could be categorized as an “emergency case.”
The village chief said he used the vehicle in good faith “with the intention of delivering a public service.”
In the decision, Sagadal said the trip ticket was only to refuel the vehicle, and return it to the garage in the morning of Dec. 20.
The anti-graft office struck down Taborada's defense that the vehicle's use was an exception to the rule since it was an emergency case.
An emergency, the ombudsman explained, is a situation that requires immediate attention and remedial action.
It also involves injury, loss of life, damage to the property, or catastrophic interference with normal activities.
“The shortage of cleaning supplies in the barangay's cleanup drive does not closely involve injury, loss of life, damage to the property, or immediate catastrophe,” the ombudsman said.