By. Jong Cadion
PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (Oct. 7, 2016) - I was
dismayed and humiliated due to the irresponsible news story by some media
that my eligibility and perpetual disqualification from holding office and
forfeiture of my retirement benefits is cancelled”, Mayor Dra Edna Ogka Benito
told reporters.
Mayor Benito after reading the report, she was
able to talk to ABS-CBN’s Carolyn Bonquin who writes the report and
said she gets the details from the Ombudsman but Benito said there were no
statements of such in order.
“There were no words from the Ombudsman’s order that says
“cancellation of eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public
office and forfeiture of benefits. The only statements were “accessories
penalties”.
She said she might sue who are behind this character
assassination for issuing baseless and irresponsible reports because of the
mental anguish brought by such report.
She also lashed out the unfair
moved/practiced of the Ombudsman for its immediate
implementation without reading or just disregard her position paper and
the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) also implemented the
Ombudsman order which she immediately stepped down as law abiding citizen.
“I did not mind to seek the rule of condonation of Aguinaldo
doctrine which says that if the guilty public officials be elected and
won, those administrative cases will be forgotten and I was elected and was
given the mandate by my electorate constituents’, Beneito said.
Ogka added that the irresponsible report made a big
effect in her being which according to her she cannot afford to give up her
profession as doctor in exchange for the two (2) months salary of the complainant
Sarahlyn Masbod, Municipal budget officer. “I did not acquire this profession
from my political practices”, Benito said.
She as of this writing, her case is now with the
court of appeals pending for “petition for review” and the incumbent mayor
is now the vice mayor and it happened that Javer Benito is her son.
The controversial news report stemmed after the annulment
proclamation of former Mayor Hadji Amer Sampiano last December 2014 and as
second vote she assumed as the mayor of Balabagan town in the nearby Province
of Lanao del Sur.
“I required all the employees to submit their original
appointment and I required her to produce a copy of her appointment as
municipal budget officer, which she did not show credible proof as such
appointment since the copy was not duly authenticated or certified by
competent authority, Benito disclosed.
She said the complainant instead has filed vacation leave
and sick leave through mails at the post office until Benito did not act to
her sick leave because she was already absence without leave (AWOL) and
she was dropped from the roll and was affirmed through a memorandum by the
Sagguniang Bayan through a resolution number No.41.
“My only hope is for the court of appeals to review my
case and also urge the media to be responsible for the news story because we
have our dignity and deserve respect because of our credibility which
we reap for years and will only destroy by irresponsible and baseless
report, here I was a victim of character assassination”, Ogka said.
Benito is seeking justice for this and said “it will
kill me and finish my political career because of alleged penalty accessories
which was not specified in the Ombudsman decision and that I can no longer run
even in the position of barangay kagawad”.
“I need justice and I am planning to sue those people who
are behind this political harassment. The Ombudsman’s order states “Wherefore,
ON THE FOREGOING, the Office finds respondent EDNA V. OGKA–BENITO, Municipal
Mayor of Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, Guilty of the administrative
offense of Grave Misconduct and is meted with penalty
of DISMISSAL from “Service with all its accessory penalties”.
No comments:
Post a Comment