By Czarina Nicole Ong-Ki The Anti-Red Tape Authority on Thursday submitted a report before the Office of the Ombudsman against Camarines Norte Governor Edgardo Tallado due to his refusal to grant a commercial sand and gravel permit to a certain individual without providing any notice. Anti-Red Tape Authority (Website / MANILA BULLETIN) The preliminary investigation report addressed to Ombudsman Samuel Martires, is based on the complaint of Henry Zabala, who filed an application for the renewal of a Commercial Sand and Gravel Permit. For more than a year, the application remained un-acted upon, and Zabala was never notified why he is not yet been issued a permit. The ARTA decided to act on behalf of Zabala and asked Tallado to explain why this was so. In response, Tallado wrote back that he received a recommendation from the Provincial Mining and Regulatory Board (PMRB) on November 13, 2018. It opposed the application for Quarry Permit of Zabala because of a report made by a certain Leo Delos Angeles. Tallado said that Zabala was not able to remit "even a single centavo," which is part of his obligation as permittee under the law. The ARTA then sought several documents from Tallado, which included the Certification from the Provincial Treasurer's Office showing that Zabala has no payments or remittances of Sand and Gravel Tax since April 28, 2016, to April 27, 2017, as well as the machine copy of the Temporary Permit issued by the Provincial Government of Camarines Norte in favor of Delos Angeles issued on July 8, 2011. The ARTA eventually issued an Order of Automatic Approval in favor of Zabala's application for the renewal of his permit, and submitted a copy of the Sworn Statement of Zabala attesting to the complete submission of all the required documents and payment of fees. Tallado received this approval by e-mail and Viber message, which he acknowledged. The order was likewise sent by LBC on September 26. The ARTA stated then that Tallado's actions were in violation of Section 21(d) and (e) of R.A. 11032 for failure to render government service within the prescribed processing time. Section 21(d) penalizes officials for failure to give the applicant or requesting party a written notice on the disapproval of an application or request, while Section 21(e) faults officials for failure to render government services within the prescribed processing time on any applications or request without due notice. "There is an indefinite period of time for the processing of an application for Commercial Sand and Gravel Permit since some of the procedures depend on the availability of the signatory," ARTA stated in its report. "As per ARTA's findings, said the procedure cannot be countenanced as it leaves the applicant into quandary as to when such application should be approved." Even assuming that Zabala's application is a highly technical one, the report stressed that there was still a clear violation of the act since the last document was submitted back on November 13, 2018. ARTA Director-General Jeremiah Belgica recommended that the Ombudsman file these charges against Tallado, and preventively suspend him from office pending investigation.