AGUILAR—The town’s mayor who was recently suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman last week along with other local government officials in different parts of the country, has filed a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals.

Mayor Ricardo Evangelista, who was suspended along with two other town officials for a period of four months without pay, has taken the cue from Iloilo Governor Neil Tupas who sought and succeeded in obtaining a TRO from the Appellate Court, which prevented his ejection from the capitol following a dismissal order issued by the Ombudsman.

The suspension order on Evangelista was served last January 13 at the municipal hall by Department of Interior and Local Government Regional Director Manuel Biason, Provincial Administrator Virgilio Solis and Police Provincial Director Alan Purisima.

He was at home when he was summoned to the municipal hall where the DILG officials immediately handed him the suspension order.

Biason also then swore in Vice Mayor Cesar Villanueva as acting mayor.

Suspended with Evangelista are Municipal Treasurer Concepcion Meligan and Municipal Accountant Grace Emus for alleged misappropriation of the town’s Special Education Fund (SEF).

Their suspension stemmed from the complaint of one Priscilla Villanueva, allegedly a close relative of the vice mayor and a member of the Municipal School Board headed by Mayor Evangelista, that handles the SEF.

The suspension of Evangelista and the two other officials effective January 9 was ordered by the Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon and approved by Ombudsman Ma. Mercedita Gutierrez.

Evangelista belongs to the United Opposition Party that supported the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. while Villanueva ran and won under the administration’s Lakas- CMD.

A handful of supporters of Evangelista rallied behind the embattled mayor as they massed in the first and second floors of the municipal building last January 15.

Provincial Administrator Solis, also acting provincial legal officer, said he advised Evangelista and the other respondents to respect the law and follow legal procedures by going directly to the court to defend themselves.

Evangelista did just that but he padlocked his office to prevent the entry of Villanueva before leaving for Manila.

This forced Villanueva to hold office at the Office of the Sangguniang Bayan.

Villanueva said he had to assume the post in order not to paralyze the operations of the municipal government.

Solis said he further advised Mayor Evangelista, the municipal treasurer and the accountant to show in their defense that there was no appropriation of any fund in the SEF.

He added that based on the records of his office, Evangelista is the only local government executive in Pangasinan facing a case before the Ombudsman.

In his January 12 order to Villanueva, Local and Interior Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno directed the former to also cause the implementation of the Ombudsman’s order suspending the Municipal Accountant Emos.

The other respondent, Meligan, is under the Bureau of Local Government Finance of the Department of Finance.

Puno’s order pointed out that in case of delay in the disposition of the case due to the fault, negligence or any cause attributable to the respondent, the period of such delay will not be counted in computing the period of the preventive suspension of the respondents.—LM

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