Four top Pasay City officials were sued for committing six administrative violations and two criminal offenses in relation to alleged extensive anomalies in fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017 in the city government before the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday.
Charged for graft and corruption at the anti-graft body are Pasay City Mayor Antonino G. Calixto, Rep. Imelda C. Rubiano, City Treasurer Manuel E. Leycano, Jr., and City Accountant Alegria T. Casugay.
In an 11-page complaint affidavit, Pablito D. Zabala, Jr., a resident of Maricaban district in Pasay, said the officials to have seriously violated administratively the Revised Administrative Code of 1987 of the Civil Service Commission, Chapter 7 for gross neglect of duty, misconduct, “being notoriously undesirable,” and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, including provisions of Republic Act 9184 and Section 60 (c) of RA 7160.
Calixto, Rubiano, Leycano, and Casugay could not be reached for comment at presstime.
Zabala said the Pasay officials also respectively committed criminal offenses in relation to the acts and omissions as defined relative to Section 3(e) of RA 3019 and RA 3815 (Revised Penal Code) Title Vll, Chapter 2, Article 208.
He asked the anti-graft body to immediately put Calixto, Rubiano and the others under preventive suspension pending investigation.
Zabala cited as evidence “credible state auditors” of the Commission on Audit based on their respective Annual Audit Reports (AAR) for years 2015, 2016, and 2017.
The auditors cited unliquidated cash advances and understated expenses ad unaccounted cash at the local treasury in their 2017 AAR, cash advances and withheld accounts in the 2016 report, and real property tax, cash advance, reimbursement payment and value for money issues in the 2015 AAR.
The charges, upon conviction, have penalties of suspension, dismissal, or perpetual disqualification from holding public office. The criminal aspect has a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.