The Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) found Caraga, Davao Oriental Mayor Alicia B. Mori guilty of simple neglect of duty for failure to execute road clearing operations, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Monday.
In a statement, DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año welcomed the decision on the case that the department filed against Mori over her failure to comply with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive.
“The Ombudsman found Mori guilty of simple neglect of duty with the penalty of reprimand pursuant to Section 10 (b) of the Ombudsman Administrative Order No. 17, Series of 2003 with a stern warning that a repetition of the same act shall be dealt with more severely,†Año said citing the March 10 decision.
Año added that the Ombudsman noted that the proposed municipal ordinance for clearing operations was still on its second reading as of November 20, 2019.
The OMB received Mori’s position paper on February 18, 2021, without any clear indication that the ordinance had been passed, according to Año.
Also, Mori only conducted road clearing operations in her town around October 2019, the OMB said.
“Had the respondent been more attentive of her duties as the local chief executive, significant results or even full compliance would have been achieved within the period prescribed by the DILG MC,” the Ombudsman decision said.
Under DILG MC No. 2019-121, all provincial governors, city and municipal mayors, punong barangays, and heads of local sanggunians should reclaim public roads from illegal structures and obstructions.
The DILG assessed the compliance of all local government units based on the following indicators:
- enactment of an ordinance on the clearing of roads or banning of illegal obstructions
- conduct of inventory of roads
- conduct of road clearing operations to remove obstructions
- planning and implementation of displacement strategies for those affected
- rehabilitation of the declared roads, sidewalks and areas that were restored for public use
- presence of a grievance and feedback mechanism regarding the clearing of road obstructions.
— DVM, GMA News