ANTIQUE Gov. Rhodora Cadiao has given assurance that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) will have a complete membership by Monday, August 12, 2024, following the suspension of eight board members.
The suspensions were ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman due to the panel’s alleged failure to approve a P1.075-billion supplemental budget.
Governor Cadiao consulted with Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Western Visayas director Juan Jovian Ingeniero on how to fill the seats of the suspended members to meet a quorum.
The governor stated that the vice presidents of three ex-officio SP members could be appointed as regular SP members to restore the Provincial Board’s functionality and resume regular sessions.
Suspended were SP members Victor Condez, Alfie Jay Niquia, Mayella Mae Plameras-Ladislao, Rony Molina, Egidio Elio, and ex-officio members Kenneth Dave Gasalao, Julius Cezar Tajanlangit, and Plaridel Sanchez IV. They were relieved for six months without pay while the anti-graft office investigates allegations of oppression, grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, and gross neglect of duty.