PROVINCIAL Administrator Rafael Baraan, who was served a writ by the Department of Interior and Local Government, quietly faded away from the Capitol to comply with the order the of the Ombudsman dismissing him and Engr. Alvin Bigay from their posts.

When The PUNCH sought his reaction, he reluctantly agreed to share his thoughts on his dismissal. Below is his full statement:

“On December 11, 2014, we were handed a writ executing the JOINT RESOLUTION of the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon dated February 28, 2014 which meted myself as Administrator of the Province of Pangasinan, and Engr. Alvin L. Bigay, Provincial Housing and Homesite Regulation Officer, with the administrative penalty of dismissal from service, with the accessory penalties of Cancellation of Eligibility, Forfeiture of Retirement Benefits and Perpetual Disqualification for Reemployment in the Government Service.

This is a very harsh and sweeping indictment of public servants whose only fault is their over-eagerness to help improve the lives of their provincemates by way of helping in the overall effort to attract investments, generate livelihood and income opportunities for the people, and promote economic development in Pangasinan.

This is also a sad development considering that the Motion for Reconsideration of the Resolution which we filed remains pending and unresolved by the Ombudsman.

The Writ implementing the Joint Resolution was signed by Director Julie J. Daquioag, OIC of the DILG Regional Office by virtue of a Memorandum from the DILG Office of the Undersecretary for Local Government directing the immediate implementation of the Ombudsman Joint Resolution against myself and Engr. Bigay. The said office was earlier furnished by the Ombudsman a copy of the Joint Resolution.

In the meantime, we have filed with the Ombudsman on December 16, 2014, an Urgent Motion to Lift the Implementing Order until it has finally resolved our Motion for Reconsideration of the Joint Resolution as we believe that the Joint Resolution handed down overlooked our basic constitutional right to due process, and in order that the Ombudsman may be able to pass upon some grave errors and other basic issues which we discussed in our Motion for Reconsideration.

Although this predicament has caused us despair, we understand that this is all part of the process that we need to go through to clear our names, and we remain steadfast in our belief that the truth and justice will eventually prevail, as we know that we have performed our duties and responsibilities in accordance with relevant rules, laws and regulations. RHFBaraan

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