THE grievances of a group of village chiefs in Bacolod City against Liga ng mga Barangay president Noli Villarosa has been brought to the attention of the National Liga.
Jose Maria Leandro Norberto de Leon, barangay captain of Vista Alegre, filed a complaint for abuse of authority and violation of Section 5 (a) Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standard for Public Officials and Employees against Villarosa, the village chief of Barangay Tangub.
He charged Villarosa in a complaint dated November 21 submitted to lawyer Edmundo Abesamis, president of the National Liga ng mga Barangay.
In his two-page affidavit, copies of which were furnished to the media on Tuesday, De Leon mentioned Villarosa’s failure to call for a general assembly after assuring the village chiefs that he will hold the meeting on September 30.
Until now, Villarosa has not responded to the letter of 20 barangay captains requesting him to hold the meeting and submit a detailed financial report, De Leon said.
Aside from the complaint filed by De Leon, the Bacolod City Council also conducted a pre-trial hearing to resolve the multiple complaints filed against Villarosa by his fellow barangay officials in Tangub.
The hearing was led by Councilor Caesar Distrito, chairman of committee on law, ordinances and good government, at the session hall Tuesday morning.
Distrito said Villarosa is facing complaints for grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a public official, gross ignorance of the law, and violation of RA 6713 filed against him by village councilmen Nino Barrientos and Jose Juguan in 2015.
The complainants claimed that they were holding a regular session when Villarosa shouted at them and challenged them to a fight.
Distrito said both parties were represented by their lawyers, and the complainants’ lawyer reiterated their motion for preventive suspension to be imposed against Villarosa.
Distrito, however, advised them to finish first the pre-trial proceedings.
Distrito said that there was no settlement between the two parties and the hearings will continue.
Villarosa had denied the allegations of the complainants.
After the pre-trial, Distrito will hold a hearing in January to resolve the complaints.
Distrito is also set to conduct hearings on the complaints filed against the chieftains of Barangay Villamonte and Handumanan.
