The decision, penned by Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard Mosquera and approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on March 25, 2015, also found Mayor Quintino Caspillo, Jr. of Talugtog, Nueva Ecija guilty of dishonesty and falsification for executing on June 7, 2007 a certification that he and Elmer Caspillo, whom he designated as head of the municipal planning and development officer, “are not in any way related to each other either by affinity or consanguinity.”
The decision that was implemented by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) provincial director Abraham Pascua 0n Wednesday imposed a “penalty of dismissal from service with all accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for re-employment in government service.”
Pascua said Caspillo was not around when they served the order but it was “orderly and properly received” by municipal administrator Primo Sabado.
Records showed that the case against Caspillo, docketed as OMB-L-A-11-0420-G, was filed by a certain Eugenia Umipig-Despuig, a resident of Barangay Cabiangan, Talugtog town on June 1, 2011 for violation of Rule XVIII of Civil Service Law and Section 59 of Executive Order No. 292 on nepotism for appointing Elmer Caspillo to the post sometime during is incumbency from 1992-1999.
In his counter-affidavit, Caspillo said the complaint was politically motivated, noting that Despuig did not question Elmer’s appointment at once despite the fact the she knew him “ very well” being a neighbor. “It is only now that she is raising the issue, for which is barred by estoppels,” Caspillo said in his affidavit dated Nov. 2, 2011.
Caspillo sought the dismissal of the case by citing the so-called Aguinaldo doctrine or the Rodolfo Aguinaldo vs. Hon. Luis Santos et al which states that “re-election to office operates as a condonation of administrative infraction which an elective official may have committed during his previous term of office.”
But the Ombudsman ruled there was substantial evidence to penalize Caspillo for nepotism, falsification and dishonesty. The Ombudsman defines dishonesty as “any act which shows lack of integrity or a disposition to defraud, cheat, deceive or betra.” “It consists of intent to violate the truth,” it added.
The Ombudsman also qualified circumstances for which Aguinaldo doctrine would be applicable. “For the doctrine of condonation to be applicable the offense should have been committed during the term immediately preceeding the public officials re-election to the same position.” There should be no gap between the term when the offense was committed and that of the re-election,” it ruled.
Falsification, on the other hand, is the representation of a thing, fact, or condition, certifying that a thing is true when it is not, whether, one has the right to make the representation or certificate,” the Ombudsman added.
Caspillo cannot immediately reached for comment but sources said he filed a motion for review before the Ombudsman and a temporary restraining order before the Court of Appeals.
DILG Central Luzon Dir. Florida Dijan ordered Vice Mayor Reynaldo Cachuela to assume the office of the mayor and Councilor Benjamin Gamit, Jr. the vice mayorship.
