The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Mayor Celso Olivier Dator of Lucban, Quezon for misconduct, abuse of authority and nepotism for hiring his sister as the municipal administrator.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales approved Dator’s suspension order for six months without pay over his administrative liability for circumventing civil service rules and regulations when he hired his sister, Maria Lyncelle Macandile.
Dator could also face criminal charges for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 for exhibiting bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence that had caused undue injury to the government.
The filing of separate criminal charges against Dator, if found guilty, could be the ground for the dismissal of the sitting elected official from his post, according to the Ombudsman.
Dator filed a motion for reconsideration, but the Ombudsman junked his plea for “sufficient basis,” it said.
In an eight-page decision released on May 3, the Ombudsman cited Dator’s act of signing the appointment of Macandile and falsely detailing that she was not related to him was a clear transgression of the norms and standards expected of a government official.
Based on the complaint, Dator hired his sister as chief administrative officer on a job order status despite lack of qualifications to perform as an administrator.
Moreover, Macandile cannot be appointed administrator since such plantilla position did not exist in the municipal office as certified by the human resource management office.
The position as municipal administrator must meet the qualifications under the civil service code, but Macandile was a nursing graduate that did not fall within the category of an administrator.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government designated Vice Mayor Armando Abutal to assume as the acting mayor, while first municipal councilor Adolfo Tupas would take over as vice mayor.