ILAGAN CITY, Isabela —The provincial board on Tuesday began an inquiry into the public information officer sanctioned by the Civil Service Commission for dishonesty.
The provincial board’s probe stemmed from a news report headlined “Isabela PIO Takes Raps For Faking Documents” published in the Manila Standard Today on March 1.
According to the report, the CSC discovered that provincial information officer Jessie James Geronimo failed the civil service examinations five times, and that a dummy took the same exam for him in 1995. He obtained a grade of 92.6.
Lawyer and board member Randolph Ariola delivered a privilege speech asking presiding officer Vice Gov. Antonio Albano and his colleagues why Geronimo had not taken a leave of absence from his official duties for the gravity of the offense and for delicadeza’s sake.
Ariola said also questioned Geronimo’s continued stay in his office instead of being suspended. “I even invited him to come over to explain in person to the provincial board but he won’t budge.”
Albano however warned Ariola against maligning the person of Geronimo who he said graduated high school as valedictorian. The vice governor urged Ariola to conduct further research instead of taking media reports at face value.
On March 2, the CSC in its Region 2 office decided against Geronimo and denied his motion for reconsideration. The regional CSC legal department said Geronimo was guilty for serious dishonesty.
According to the commission, under the uniform rules on administrative cases in the civil service, section 52 states further that administrative offenses listed such as dishonesty and falsification of official documents are penalized with dismissal from service for the first offense.