FORMER Consolacion mayor Avelino J. Gungob Sr. was saddened by the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision finding him administratively liable for authorizing the extraction and hauling of limestone without permits, reversing a ruling by the Court of Appeals that had cleared him.
Gungob said in a Bombo Radyo Cebu interview on December 31, 2025, that he believes the case was politically motivated, claiming local political rivals orchestrated the filing of charges against him.
In a decision promulgated Aug. 13, 2025, and published online Dec. 21, the SC granted a petition filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 and reinstated the Office of the Ombudsman’s finding that Gungob was administratively liable for simple misconduct.
The anti-graft office imposed a penalty of three months’ suspension without pay, convertible to a fine.
The case stemmed from a November 2009 checkpoint in Consolacion where authorities apprehended three municipal dump trucks hauling limestone without valid permits, along with a backhoe and a bulldozer, all owned by the Municipal Government.
The Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Gungob and several job order employees with theft of minerals under Republic Act 7942, or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
Gungob said the extraction of earth materials was intended for road projects in the upland areas of Sitio Laray, Barangay Jugan, which he said were later used as reclaimed areas.
The Court of Appeals earlier ruled in Gungob’s favor, citing his good faith and the public purpose of the municipal projects, and denied the NBI’s motion for reconsideration for being filed late.
The SC, however, held that the motion was timely, ruling that the filing period should be counted from receipt by the Office of the Solicitor General, not the NBI.
On the merits, the High Court said good faith does not absolve a public official from liability for simple misconduct, stressing that directing the extraction of minerals without permits is unlawful even if done for public projects and without corrupt intent.
Gungob served as mayor of Consolacion from 2001 to 2010. (KAL)