THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of charges before the Sandiganbayan against former San Remigio, Cebu mayor Jay Olivar for failure to account his cash advances (CAs) amounting to P585,000 in 2011.
Case investigation showed that in 2011, Olivar received a total of P585,000 in CAs for various expenses for the town's anti-illegal drugs campaign, Christmas celebration, Suroy-Suroy Sugbo and supplies, the Ombudsman reported on Monday, August 14.
The Ombudsman reiterated that under the law, all petty operating expenses and field operating expenses shall be liquidated within 20 days after the end of the year. In this case, the 2011 CAs were still reported to be outstanding as of June 30, 2015.
“Clearly, from the grant of cash advances in 2011, respondent’s failure to liquidate as of 30 June 2015 speaks volumes of his criminal transgression,” Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said.
Article 218 (Failure to Render Accounts) of the Revised Penal Code penalizes an accountable public officer, whether in the service or separated there from, who is required by law or regulation to render accounts to the Commission on Audit, or to a provincial auditor, and fails to do so for a period of two months after such accounts should be rendered.
Olivar said he tasked a job order employee to prepare the liquidation documents. However, due to his many tasks, the job order employee failed to complete the documentation when Olivar’s term ended in 2013.
The mayor also asserted that the local government was busy in its programs and projects especially after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Carpio-Morales said the defenses raised by Olivar are “self-serving and unsubstantiated. As the accountable officer, respondent should have been vigilant in processing his liquidation; or if he devolved the task to other persons, he should have exercised efficient control and supervision to ensure timely liquidation of his cash advances.” (SunStar Philippines)