THE Office of the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal from service of former town mayor and now vice mayor Romel Yogore, and seven municipal executives for grave misconduct and dishonesty.
The dismissal order dated Jan. 30, 2017 signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales also included Valladolid agriculture officer Giovanni Robles and members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) namely, Joseph Alfonso Manayon, Ernesto Genobis, Daisy Galve, Cherryl Aquirre, Merlene Magbanua, and Ramonito Amazona.
Yogore refused to comment on the ruling on Thursday, saying he would still consult his lawyer.
It added that in the event the penalty of dismissal can no longer be enforced by reason of respondent’s separation from the service, the same shall be converted into a fine in an amount equivalent to respondent’s salary for one year, payable to the Ombudsman and may be deductible from respondent’s retirement benefits, accrued leave credits, or any receivable from his or her office.
The case stemmed from the awarding of the contract for the repair of the mechanical grain dryers to Franmar Agro Industrial Sales without public bidding and for causing the purchase of palay seeds without prior authority from the Municipal Council.
The Ombudsman ruling stated that without public bidding, they engaged the services of Franmar for the repair of two Chung Ching mechanical grain dryers for a total cost of P698,000 approved by BAC in March 2009 and also approved by Yogore.
On the purchase of palay seeds in the amount of P300,000, based on the documents retrieved, the municipality purchased only 53 bags of certified seeds with an estimated cost of P31,800.
The budget for the projects came from the P1 million given to the Municipality of Valladolid by the Provincial Government in 2008.