THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno and three other former Provincial Capitol officials after they were found guilty of grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The three former Misamis Oriental officials were Elmer Wabe, former acting provincial budget officer; Patrick Gabutina, former provincial administrator; and Rolando Pacuribot, former assistant provincial engineer.
The secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) was directed to implement the dismissal order which was approved on December 12, 2017.
In a press release posted in the Ombudsman website, Moreno and the three other ex-Capitol department chiefs were meted with penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office, cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and barred from taking the civil service examinations.
Moreno, et al, were charged with graft after investigators found that from October 2009 to October 2010, the province inked several lease agreements with Equiprent Corporation for the use of heavy equipment amounting to nearly P3 million.
According to the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) report, "the rental of heavy equipment and the disbursement for payments were irregular due to the deficiencies such as lack of public bidding and the necessary documents as required under Republic Act No.9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act)."
The COA report also found that "the mode of procurement indicated in all the purchase orders for each payment was through public bidding, but no proof was shown that a public bidding was conducted."
"Also, at the time of the alleged bidding, Equiprent was not registered with the PhilGEPS as required under RA 9184, and in awarding the contract to Equiprent, the required documents were not submitted,"the COA report also revealed.
Then the Commission issued a Notice of Disallowance on November 10, 2014 due to these irregularities.
The Ombudsman said that "the acts show a clear intent to violate the law on procurement and a flagrant disregard of established rule, and definitely gave a bad image to public service, tantamount to grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service."
It can be recalled that Moreno had been previously ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman because of similar cases filed by Antonio Nunez.
However, he was spared from the spate of dismissal orders after the Court of Appeals (CA) issued Temporary Restraining Orders (TRO).
Lawyer Bryan Dale Mordeno, Moreno's legal counsel, said the latest dismissal order cannot be given effect because it was already covered on the TRO they had previously secured from the Court of Appeals.
He said they have also secured a Writ of Preliminary Injunction before the Christmas holiday.
"Na-apil nana sa TRO atong una. Ila man gud gitagsa-tagsa sa Ombudsman bisan ako na gipa-consolidate (The previous TRO would cover that. What they did was to file separate cases even after we moved to have them consolidated)," Mordeno said.
"Naa napud resolution granting the Writ of Preliminary Injunction. No probs na na ilang gaingnon nga expire na ang TRO. It can't be given effect because of the injunctive writ (There is already a resolution granting the Writ of Preliminary Injunction. What they are saying regarding an expired TRO is not a problem. It can't be given effect because of the injunctive writ)," Moreno added.
Moreno said they are expecting one more dismissal order from the Ombudsman.
