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Manila Bulletin devider devider Polangui mayor, 4 others suspended for defying environment law

Polangui mayor, 4 others suspended for defying environment law

Published Jul 18, 2018 10:49 am
By Niño Luces LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – The Office of the Ombudsman suspended an Albay town mayor and four councilors for failure to comply with the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. Office of the Ombudsman (Credits: Office of the Ombudsman Philippines via Facebook | Manila Bulletin) Office of the Ombudsman (Credits: Office of the Ombudsman Philippines via Facebook | Manila Bulletin) In the suspension order signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, dated June 27, 2018 and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) memorandum dated July 3, 2018, respondents Cherilie Mella Sampal, Jesciel Richard C. Salceda, William H. Buendia, Sr., Edgar B. Arbo and Edna R. Siguenza were liable for “gross neglect of duty” and they are meted the penalty of “suspension from the service without pay” for a period of one year with a “stern warning” that the repetition of the same shall dealt with more severely. Cherilie Mella Sampal is the present mayor of Polangui town, while the four others are councilors of the same town. Ombudsman ordered the local government unit to immediately close and rehabilitate the open dumpsite in Barangay Sugcad this town and desist from establishing any open dumpsite in the municipality. The memorandum from the DILG to its regional office here stated that the suspension is the implementation of the decision dated April 17, 2015 of the Office of the Ombudsman in OMB-L-A 16-0617 entitled “The Environmental Team of the Environmental Ombudsman Program vs. Cherilie M. Sampal, et al (Municipal Mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan Members of Polangui, Albay). In a phone interview by the Manila Bulletin with Vice Mayor Herbert Borja, who is now the acting mayor, he confirmed that the suspension order was served last Monday at 10:30 in the morning. He said that the suspension order was served last Monday, although the date of suspension was still last 2015 when Raul Lim was still the vice mayor of Polangui town. He admitted that the open dumpsite located in Sitio Barogo, Brgy. Sugcad was already rehabilitated but instead of putting up a controlled dump site, another open dumpsite was established in Brgy Quinartilan this municipality. “We are doing our best to comply with the law. The LGU is working for it,” Borja said.
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