“NOT one punong barangay from Region XII made to the dreaded list of barangay officials who had been placed on a six-month preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman”.

This was confirmed over the weekend by RD Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, CESO III as she thanked all the field personnel and local officials about the latest “achievement” for the Region.

In a press release, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Ano released the names of 89 punong barangays from all over the country who were suspended following the filing of complaints by the Department “for anomalies and irregularities involving the implementation of the first tranche of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP).”

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año has given the directive to the Municipal/City Mayors of these Punong Barangays to effect the implementation order of the Ombudsman upon receipt while “the DILG Regional and field officers were directed to ensure the orderly implementation of the said mass suspension.”

The Office of the Ombudsman order dated September 2, 2020 articulated that “the evidence on record shows that the guilt of these punong barangays is strong and the charges against them involve Serious Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct, Abuse of Authority and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service which may warrant removal from the service.”

The suspension, according to the Ombudsman, is necessary as the continued stay off these village officials in office may prejudice the case filed against them. Their suspension is “pursuant to Republic Act No. 6770 is proper under the premises.”

Director Leysa said that the mass suspension is quite “unprecedented”, putting on the record of the nation’s history as the “first mass suspension in the Philippines.” Dir. Leysa believes that the DILG is “simply showing its resolve and commitment to clean up the bureaucracy”, especially the corrupt officials who took advantage of the SAP implementation.

The Department has earlier given the green light for the “PNP-CIDG to file criminal cases against 447 individuals for violations of RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), RA 11469 (Bayanihan Act I), and RA 6713 (Code of Conduct of Government Officials and Employees), among others, again in relation to the implementation of the Social Amelioration.”

Based on the records, out of the 447 suspects, “211 are elected local and barangay officials, 104 are appointed barangay officials and 132 are their civilian co-conspirators.” Their cases are now in the hands of their respective City and Provincial Prosecutors across the country.

“My deepest gratitude to all the local chief executives for going out of their way to make sure that their punong barangays stay in line, as far as the distribution of SAP is concerned. Yes, there had been reports about alleged anomalies in our Region but upon closer scrutiny, the issues had been dealt with accordingly,” Dir. Leysa explained.