ILOILO CITY – The Office of the Ombudsman found eight Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) members of Antique province guilty of grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, and conduct unbecoming of public officers.
EIGHT members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Antique were found guilty of grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, and conduct unbecoming of public officers by the Ombudsman. (Antique News Updates)
Guilty were Provincial Board Members Egidio Elio, Rony Molina, Victor Condez, Alfie Jay Niquia, Plaridel Sanchez IV, Mayella Mae Ladislao, as well as ex-officio members Julius Cezar Tajanlangit of the Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB-Antique) and Kenneth Dave Gasalao of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK-Antique).
The Ombudsman decision dated March 7, 2025 obtained by the Manila Bulletin on Monday, March 17, meted a penalty of one-year suspension without pay to them.
Approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, the 18-page decision detailed how they deliberately did not take action on the first supplemental budget requested by Gov. Rhodora “Dodod” Cadiao for fiscal year 2024.
“They were guilty of appropriating zero budget to projects critical to the public welfare of the province of Antique,” wrote Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer Leilani Tagulao-Marquez.
The Ombudsman found out that they deliberately neglected their duties by boycotting a June 3, 2024 session while having delaying tactics during two previous sessions held in May 2024.
Part of the P1-billion supplemental budget the Cadiao administration asked was intended for a solar-energy projects for the provincial hospitals as well as installation of solar-powered street lights and home solar systems for residents of far-flung barangays.
According to the Ombudsman, the eight SP members “betrayed public welfare and public interests” of 15,000 households located in 200 far-flung barangays.