DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio signed an executive order (EO) creating an investigating committee to conduct administrative proceedings on complaints made against employees of the City Government.
Based on the Executive Order No. 6 signed by the mayor last February 22, 2017, the committee will be chaired by Osmundo Villanueva, Jr., with City Assistant Administrator Lawrence Bantiding, and Human Resource and Management Office Head Erwin Alparaque Jr.
The committee will have the power to conduct investigations pursuant to the Rule 8 of the Revised Rules on Administrative cases in the Civil Service (RRACCS), and Section 86 of Republic Act 7610 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of the Philippines, and thereafter submit the findings and recommendations to the city mayor upon the conclusion of the same.
The conduct of necessary proceedings, conferences, hearings, submission of reports and statues or progresses of the cases are also among the function of the committee.
Section 3, of the EO also provides that a majority of two members of the committee constitute a quorum for the investigating committee to validly conduct any proceeding.
Duterte-Carpio also assigned three administrative prosecutors, which will be authorized to prosecute during the administrative proceeding subject to an affirmative recommendation of the Investigating Committee and subsequent to ratification of the mayor.
Lawyers Enrique Bonocan, Marlisa Gallo, and Janis Lous Esparcia were appointed by the mayor as the Special Administrative Prosecutors.
“When necessary, the city administrator may identify a new special prosecutor through the issuance of a memorandum for the said purpose,” the EO read.
Special administrative prosecutors (SAP) were given power to conduct preliminary investigation pursuant to the Section 15, 16, and 17 of the RRACCS to determine the existence of the prima facie case to warrant the filing of the formal charge.
The SAP, will also submit to the city mayor, upon termination of the preliminary investigation, a preliminary investigation report with recommendation and the complete records of the case.
They will also act as the prosecuting attorney on all administrative actions filed against the City Government employees and they will also report the progress of the investigations conducted.
Section 6 of the EO 6 also provides that the investigating committee shall have its own secretariat which will perform all clerical functions necessary for the effective performance of the investigating committee. The mayor assigned lawyer Elisa E. Lapiña as secretariat head, Rosita R. Mahipus as the assistant secretariat head, and Anna Liza D. Roque, Novelle Quibo Paragas, Rowena S. Han as members, and Wingstone R. Arbelon, as process server/liaison.
The order also stated that when necessary, the city administrator may assign and designate other city government personnel (e.g. stenographers, transcriptionists, etc.) to perform roles and functions relative to the necessary for the proper conduct of all administrative investigations and proceedings.