CEBU CITY – Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing is facing administrative and criminal charges filed by four city hall employees before the Office of the Ombusdman Visayas.
Quisumbing is facing charges for alleged violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, grave misconduct, and oppression.
Damaso G. Tumulak, Engineer Andres C. Suson, Florentino J. dela Paz Jr., and Danna Jane V. Escalante filed the case before the Office of the Ombudsman on Nov. 12, 2018 but Quisumbing only filed his counter-affidavit upon the order of the Ombudsman last Thursday.
City Legal Officer James Allan Sayson said it took time before the mayor answered the complaint since he only received the Ombudsman order a few days ago.
The complainants said Quisumbing erred when he transferred them to the Umapad Dumpsite Task Force since the new assignments were not their field of expertise.
Before the reassignment, Tumulak was the city’s human resources head, Suson was an assistant to the City Engineering Office, Dela Paz was assistant commissioner of the City Sports Commission, and Escalante was an administration aide.
In a press conference last Thursday, the four city hall workers said they filed a complaint before the Civil Service Commission questioning the reassignment.
The four said the CSC issued a reinstatement order but Quisumbing did not implement it. The four also complained that it took a long time before they received their salaries from June to October last year.
Sayson said their salaries were delayed as Quisumbing had to verify the authenticity of their daily time records lest he will be held accountable for falsification if the entries there are found inaccurate.
Sayson maintained that the transfer was legal since the mayor believed in their capacities.
While they admitted that they have already received their salaries, the complainants questioned why they were not given bonuses. “When it comes to government, bonuses are based on the performance of the employee,” said Sayson.
(With USC interns Sarah Chavez and Aubrey Jimenea)