Office of the Ombudsman (Courtesy of OMB)
MANILA – The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the suspension without pay for six months of a Mindoro Oriental municipal mayor and another official found guilty of simple misconduct for allowing the operation of illegal cockfighting five years ago.
Assistant Ombudsman Pilarita Lapitan directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government to immediately implement the decision against Gloria Mayor German Rodegerio and municipal Business Permit and Licensing Office officer Wilfredo Sabado.
Rodegerio and Sabado issued a total of 127 mayor’s permits for Gloria Cockpit Arena (GCA) to hold “illegal cockfights” at least four times a week in 2019, according to the decision made public Tuesday.
The complainants claimed the two gave unwarranted benefits to GCA which did not have a franchise.
The separate complaint for grave misconduct and violation of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees against the two and Sangguniang Bayan members Rodolfo Dapito, Crispin Bawasanta, Lauro De Belen, Norma Paz, Gregorio Favorito, Rose Ann Balbasto, and Henry Soberano were dismissed for lack of merit.
The mayor claimed he acted in good faith and merely continued what his predecessors did when he issued permits to GCA.
He said the issuance was based on municipal resolutions issued by past administrations and even during the time of then-vice mayor Ramon Solas, who was one of the complainants.
Gloria, with 27 villages, has a population of about 51,000 as of the 2020 census.
It is located some 77 kilometers away from Calapan, the provincial capital. (PNA)
