Ombudsman Suspends Soc

The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas has ordered the suspension of former Talisay City mayor and now councilor Socrates Fernandez for three months for simple neglect of duty.

The suspension stemmed from the complaint filed against Fernandez in 2010, when he was still mayor, where he allegedly allowed his son’s friend to use a government vehicle without a trip ticket.

“Clearly, respondent transgressed the aforementioned law and rules by allowing Gabasa on Sept. 13, 2010, to drive a government vehicle without a driver’s license and without any trip ticket. His failure to ensure that only a licensed driver would drive the government vehicle issued to him reflects a neglectful attitude and a flagrant disregard of his responsibility as head of office,” said Graft investigation and prosecution officer II Maria Corazon Vergara-Naraja who wrote the decision.

The Office of the Ombudsman directed the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to implement the decision with the request to promptly submit a compliance report.

Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO) of the Office of the Ombudsman initiated the filing of the compliant against Fernandez during his stint as mayor for allegedly allowing Benedict Gabasa, a job order employee of the city to drive the vehicle without driver’s license and any trip ticket.

In 2010, a Toyota Revo (SGH 541) registered under the Talisay City Government, was apprehended by the policemen in Barangay Bulacao, Cebu City, upon information that it was used by Jovan Fernandez, the former mayor’s son , after he allegedly figured in an altercation at a mall in Cebu City.