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ANTIQUE, Philippines – The highest official of Antique province in Western Visayas described an anti-graft case filed by a senior provincial government official as a form of “bullying” days after posting a P90,000 bail in Kidapawan City.
Governor Rhodora Cadiao was in Kidapawan City on June 9 when word broke of an arrest warrant signed on June 6 by Associate Justice Maria Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta of the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division.
The warrant was for a case filed by former Antique Provincial General Services Office (PGSO) chief Antonio Dela Vega.
He accused the governor of using her powers to deprive him of his worth of salary, representation, and transportation Allowances (RATA), totaling around P1.6 million, from June 2016 to February 2018.
Cadiao, who immediately posted bail to avoid arrest, initially called the issuance of an arrest warrant “a normal process” of justice governance.
On June 12, however, she described the case as “a form of political bullying” during Independence Day rites at the Capitol in San Jose de Buenavista.
What the case alleges
“I am willing to face the charges. I would still continue serving and waking up for all the Antiquenos,” the governor told constituents.
The case against Cadiao alleges that she took advantage of her position to cause undue injury to Dela Vega by refusing to pay him his salary, RATA, and other benefits for two years.
The case links to the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) final decision invalidating the governor’s reassignment of Dela Vega to the province’s Culasi satellite office.
Cadiao has referred to Dela Vega as an employee who is considered AWOL (Absent Without Official Leave).
But the information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman notes that the CSC ordered the province to reinstate Dela Vega as head of the PGSO.
The anti-graft court’s seventh division said it found probable cause to have Cadiao face trial for violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Retired judge Nery Duremdes, the acting provincial administrator, and Cadiao’s legal counsel Pampross Pagunsan faced reporters after the official holiday ceremony.
Durembes vaguely mentioned that Dela Vega “somewhat failed to provide necessary documents in relation to his claims.”
Libel complaints
At the same briefing, Duremdes confirmed that the province has filed cases of cyber libel coomplaints against three residents of Antique.
“I confirmed that we have filed a case,” he told media.
The three respondents alleged in their social media posts that the P108-million property purchased for a new government center was overpriced, as the area was agricultural land but bought at the price of commercial land, the retired judge explained.
“We will name the three respondents in due time,” he said.
But a Philippine News Agency’s report in March, 2023 confirmed the P108-million purchase price and the area’s original designation as agricultural land.
The PNA story reported the province’s “failure to secure the approval of the municipal council of San Jose de Buenavista to reclassify the 6.4-hectare agricultural land into an institutional area in Barangay Badiang” for the planned new government center.
“The provincial government has already purchased the property for PHP108 million last year,” the government news agency said.
But on April 3, the Antique provincial board approved a P970-million supplemental budget for the new center’s construction.
The move came after Duremdes presented the March 27 letter of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Napoleon Galit, who said there is no more need to obtain the DAR’s approval to convert or reclassify the agricultural land.
– Rappler.com
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