PUERTO GALERA, Oriental Mindoro—The vice mayor of this resort town sued his municipal mayor and three other department heads over non-payment of travel expenses in the amount of P20,580.
Puerto Galera Vice Mayor Robinhood D. Ylagan filed in the Office of the Ombudsman a graft complaint against Mayor Hubbert Christopher A. Dolor and three other municipal officials for their refusal to reimburse him for expenses he had incurred during a three-day official travel to Manila last December.
The complaint stemmed from Dolor’s refusal to approve a travel order and reimburse travel expenses requested by Ylagan to attend, on official time, a three-day regular meeting of the national executive board of the Vice-Mayors League of the Philippines in Manila last Dec. 1-3, 2015.
An administrative aide of Ylagan, Gigi C. Balinton, said that when she went to the office of the municipal mayor to bring the travel documents for his signature, Dolor allegedly told her:
“Pera na naman ng gobyerno, sayang lang! Malaking halaga ito! May mga empleyado gumaganap na hindi maka claim ng TEV (travel expenses voucher) dahil wala budget. Si Vice Mayor ay magta-travel na naman ay hindi naman pumupunta sa seminar at kung saan-saan pumupunta. Hindi naman nag re-echo!”
Ylagan alleged that Dolor and three other respondents in the complaint, municipal accountant Maria Cristina G. Balitaan, municipal treasurer Crisol R. Calda, and municipal administrator Rafael Cataquiz, violated several provisions of Republic Act No. 3139 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
After several attempts of the vice mayor to make Dolor approve his travel request, Ylagan proceeded with his official travel. Being a full-fledged member, Ylagan was invited by Manila Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso, VMLP president, to attend the meeting on official time.
Upon his return from Manila, Ylagan made an attempt to reimburse his expenses incurred during his official travel only to be told by the three department heads, Balitaan, Calda, and Cataquiz, all respondents in the complaint, that they cannot process the vice-mayor’s reimbursement request because the latter “failed to secure permission and authority from the Office of the Mayor for his travel.”
The Puerto Galera vice-mayor alleged that the stubborn refusal of the four municipal officials, headed by Mayor Dolor, to approve and process his reimbursement request is an “act of political reprisal” sin he ran against a candidate of Dolor and won in the 2013 local election.
Ylagan’s son, Rockey D. Ilagan, chairman of Bgy. Sabang, is running against Dolor’s mother, Estrellita A. Dolor, in the May 9, 2016 Puerto Galera mayoral race.