Ombudsman suspends Davao del Sur vice-mayor for neglect of duty

January 25, 2017

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the six-month suspension without pay of former Bansalan Mayor Edwin Reyes ( now Vice-Mayor) of Davao del Norte for simple neglect of duty.

The Ombudsman also ordered the filing of an information for violation of Section 5(a) of R.A. No. 6713 against Reyes.

The case stemmed from his unjustified refusal to pay the monetary claims of a former utility worker of the municipality who died in 2014. the Ombudsman said.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) had earlier ruled that dropping from the rolls of utility worker Junelan Mantica was not in order, and it directed Reyes to pay back wages to Mantica’s heirs.

He was also faulted for ignoring several letters of the complainant appealing for the prompt implementation of the CSC decision.

Under Section 5(a) of R.A. No. 6713, public officials are required to respond to letters, telegrams, or other means of communication sent by the public within 15 working days from receipt, indicating the action taken on the request. DMS