Sunday, October 29, 2006 Vice mayor, 9 dads charged By Victor L. Camion
BACONG, Negros Oriental -- Mayor Rodolfo Yee has charged Vice Mayor Lenin Alviola and nine members of the Bacong Municipal Council for 11 counts of alleged falsification of public documents.
In his complaint filed recently before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office, Yee accused Alviola and the nine councilors of falsifying a public document to certify that Alviola did not use a government vehicle for his official and personal services to enable him to claim traveling allowances.
Yee named the respondents, aside from Alviola, in his sworn statement as Municipal Council members Alberto Leong, Romulo Yee, Alexander Tuballa, Nilo Venales, Elvis Tinguha, Alfredo Teves, Cesar Blanco, Restituto Figuez, Sr., and Lionell Jester Alviola, Youth Council federation president.
Yee said that based on a memorandum receipt dated August 12, 2004, Alviola was issued a silver blue 4WD Mitsubishi Pajero owned by the municipality of Bacong.
Alviola, he said, used the vehicle for personal and official business transactions.
The mayor said that despite the issuance of a service vehicle, the vice mayor continued to claim and to receive traveling allowances from August 10, 2004 to August 2, 2006 totaling P64,332.
Yee said Alviola received P1,898 a month as his traveling allowance from August 10, 2004 to May 3, 2005. And starting June 5, 2005 up to August 2, 2006, the vice mayor allegedly received a P3,375 monthly traveling allowance.
"I personally reminded and advised Vice Mayor Alviola to desist from collecting and receiving his monthly traveling allowances due to the prohibition but he continued to do so," Yee said in his affidavit.
Usurpation of authority
Yee also filed a criminal complaint against Leong for alleged usurpation of authority.
The mayor accused Leong of conspiring with Alviola when he took his oath of office as acting vice mayor of Bacong last September 13.
"He proceeded to take the law into his own hands and took his oath as acting vice mayor before a Municipal Trial Court Judge," said Yee.
Attached in Yee's complaint is a copy of an oath of office signed and subscribed by Judge Neciforo Enot, as officer administering the oath.
"As a legislator and having served as municipal councilor in the Municipality of Bacong he should have followed the law and set the example to uphold the rule of law," the mayor said.
Yee said the local government code provides the procedure in the discipline of erring elective public officials.
"In his scheming and evil desire to become the vice mayor and in conspiracy with the vice mayor who also took his oath of office as acting municipal mayor, he chose to act as the jury, judge and executioner and proceeded to usurp the office to which he is not lawfully entitled," the mayor said.
Alviola and Leong took over as acting mayor and vice mayor, respectively, after the Ombudsman for the Visayas recommended a six-month suspension without pay against Yee for dismissing a municipal employee without due process.
Despite the absence of an order from the Department of the Interior and Local Government to implement the Ombudsman's recommendation, Alviola and Leong took over as acting mayor and vice mayor of Bacong.
The two officials withdrew their posts after the Court of Appeals issued an order restraining them from assuming their posts.
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