By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The Department of the Interior and Local Government Western Visayas (DILG-6) announced that political parties of the eight suspended members of Antique’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) can nominate members to fill the vacant positions.
Atty. Junine Wednesday Java, legal officer of DILG-6, told Daily Guardian that the guidelines are outlined in DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2019-21, which sets the general policies and procedures for filling temporary vacancies.
DILG-6 stated that filling these vacant seats will prevent a hiatus that could paralyze provincial government operations and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of basic services.
“In filling the temporarily vacant seats, as per the operational guidelines, certain documents are required from the political parties of the suspended SP members. These documents need to be submitted to nominate a replacement from the relevant political party,” Java explained.
According to the guidelines, the nominee must meet all the qualifications for the position under Section 39 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and must not have any of the disqualifications listed under Section 40 of the same code.
Java emphasized that the nomination of a temporary replacement by the political party is intended to maintain the party’s representation in the SP.
“If the vacancy is caused by a member not belonging to any political party, there is also a set of procedures we need to follow,” she added.
In cases where the SP members do not belong to any political party, the DILG will appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy based on the recommendation of the SP, provided there is still a quorum.
Java noted that the regional office is awaiting final instructions from their central office, considering that the suspension affects eight SP members.
“We are still securing final guidance from our central office regarding this matter, particularly because the number of vacancies is eight. We want to ensure we have a clear set of guidelines and rules. As of now, we have yet to receive the final instructions from our central office,” she said.
She added that they are also finalizing reports from the local office to confirm the political affiliations of the suspended members and will relay the information to the central office.
“Given that this involves eight members of the SP, we need a clear and definitive set of instructions from our central office,” Java emphasized.
The Ombudsman, in an August 1 order, preventively suspended SP members Egidio Elio, Rony Molina, Victor Condez, Alfie Jay Niquia, Plaridel Sanchez IV, Mayella Mae Ladislao, Kenneth Dave Gasalao, and Julius Cezar Tajanlangit for six months.
The suspension stems from an administrative complaint filed against them for oppression, grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, gross neglect under the 2017 Revised Rules of Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, and violation of Section 4 of Republic Act 6713, also known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The Ombudsman found “sufficient grounds to preventively suspend [the members] considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt.”
Preventive suspensions are imposed to ensure unimpeded investigations of administrative cases against public officials.
