Cebu PB Okays 3-month Suspension for 5 Absentee Town Councillors

The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) on Monday approved a committee report imposing a three-month suspension without pay on five municipal councilors in the southern Cebu town of Alegria, including a former mayor, as penalty for not attending sessions since 2013.

The PB committee on complaints and investigation found Alegria councilors Emelita Guisadio, Nemia Alocillo, Alejandro Villaneza, Maria Letecia Donayre and Diosdao Lerio guilty of grave dereliction of duty.

Guisadio is a former mayor.

Alegria Vice Mayor Marcial Rodriguez filed the complaints for serious and grave abuse of authority and dereliction of duty against the five councilors last April 2014.

But the committee did not find the respondents guilty of serious and grave abuse of authority.

Rodriguez alleged that the officials refused to attend the scheduled regular and special sessions, “without giving any justifiable explanation or leave of absence prior to the scheduled sessions and their refusal to receive the notices of sessions, without any valid and reasonable reason.”

Cebu PB Member Grecilda Sanchez, acting chair of the investigating committee, said the findings were the results of proceedings attended by both the complainant and all respondents, and the committee report is the collective effort of six committee members.

The committee report dated Oct. 20 was signed by PB members Arleigh Jay Sitoy, the former committee chairman, Raul Alcoseba, Peter John Calderon, Christopher Baricuatro, Miguel Antonio Magpale and Sanchez, who was the vice chairman when the report was made.

According to the report, Guisadio moved to adjourn the session last Oct. 7, 2013, which the other respondents supported, because a video camera had yet to be installed.

The respondents reportedly did not attend the sessions on Dec. 18, Dec. 19 and Dec. 21, 2013 and then wrote a letter to the vice mayor requesting that the regular sessions on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14, 2014 be suspended.

The five councilors allegedly failed to return to the session hall after recess on Oct. 21, 2013 and March 24, 2014. (PNA) RMA/EB/EDS