Suspended National Irrigation Administration (NIA) Benny Antiporda denied on Wednesday, Nov. 16, the charges levelled against him by some of the agency's officers and employees that resulted in his suspension from work without pay for six months by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a press conference, Antiporda said the charges against him were motivated by his rigorous campaign against corruption at NIA, which, he said, “only had an accomplishment of one percent every year”.
Antiporda particularly answered harassment allegations hurled against him by NIA Corporate Secretary Michelle Raymundo, who said Antiporda got mad at her for refusing to certify that his appointment as NIA administrator was no longer in an “acting” capacity, but was already “permanent”.
“Acting lang talaga, napaka-petty nung allegation nila. Yung acting tsaka permanent pareho lang yan. Walang pinag-iba (My capacity was really acting. Their allegation was really petty. ‘Acting’ and ‘permanent’ are all the same, there’s no different) , but they need to be reappointed after one year,” he explained.
Antiporda also explained that it was this “acting” capacity that some NIA officials used to convince agency employees that he was going to be replaced anyway.
“It gave us a hard time with the operation of NIA. Kaya yung mga empleyado, sa halip na mag-trabaho at sumunod sa bagong direksyon, hindi sumusunod (That’s why the employees, instead of working and heeding the direction we mandate, they don’t follow),” he added.
And part of the alleged harassment was that Antiporda padlocked and cut off electricity to her office at 5 p.m. when it has been known that work at NIA had been on “flexi-basis” and could extend beyond that time.
“Walang gano’n. Ang order ko lang ay walang lalabas na dokumento kasi nag-iimbestiga na kami (There was nothing like that. My order was that no document be taken out because we were already starting our investigation),” Antiporda said.
The embattled NIA official also said he offered to resign his position when he called up Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban.
However, since President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was scheduled to leave for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, Antiporda said Panganiban advised him to “stay put”.
The Office of the Ombudsman had earlier ordered the six-month preventive suspension without pay of Antiporda.
In an order signed by Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires on Nov. 11, Antiporda was ordered suspended "in order to secure the documents and to prevent possible harassment of witnesses."
Several officers and members of the NIA Employees Association of the Philippines (NIAEASP) filed a complaint against Antiporda for threatening not to renew their appointments if they do not side with him or agree with his policies.
Antiporda was further accused of using "bootlicking" as the basis of promotions and using flag ceremonies as an "avenue for his bullying and fake news."
The complainants further said that Antiporda misled the President by "discussing to him that NIA will be irrigating all farmlands with Public Private Partnership (PPP) when irrigation is the mandate of the government and not a business venture which is enticing to the private sector."
At the same time, Antiporda allegedly threatened not to renew the appointments of some employees of the General Services Division (GSD) of the NIA who installed and repaired the aircon in his residence. This reportedly "created a chilling effect on NIA employees."
For its part, the Ombudsman found merit in the complaint filed against Antiporda.
"After a careful evaluation of the records, this Office finds that among the respondents, respondent Benny D. Antiporda's guilt is strong and that the case against him involves Grave Misconduct, Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, and Oppression, which may warrant his removal from the service," the Ombudsman said.
Others included in the complaint are Senior Deputy Administrator Eryl Royce R. Nagtalon, Acting Operations Department Manager Leslie C. Dizon, Irrigation Engineering Center (IEC) Acting Manager Jerome R. Osias, Acting Manager Clarizze C. Toribio, and General Services Division (GSD) Acting Manager Elaine P. Villanueva. (With Czarina Nicole Ong Ki)