CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The game of musical chairs at the mayoralty office in San Simon, Pampanga is on again.
Mayor Abundio “JP” Punsalan was served with a 60-day preventive suspension order by the provincial government Monday, June 24.
Signed by Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda, the order is based on Sangguniang Panlalawigan Resolution 8538 dated April 29, 2024 recommending suspension on the grounds of Administrative Case No. 01-2024 against Punsalan for alleged “gross neglect of duty, grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct in the performance of duty, and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019).”
The suspension was intended to ensure that the ongoing case against Punsalan “will remain unbiased and uninfluenced.”
San Simon Vice Mayor Romanoel “Dading” Santos officially assumed the mayoralty at 5 p.m. also on Monday accompanied by sangguniang bayan members, barangay chairmen and supporters.
Earlier in the day, Punsalan joined Pineda in distributing financial assistance to farmers and irrigators’ associations adversely affected by the El Nino phenomenon.
Series of suspensions
In June 2023, Punsalan, along with Santos and five SB members were suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for “simple neglect of duty and simple misconduct” in the reclassification of a parcel of land in 2020.
Councilor Ryan Viray took over the mayorship until March 2024 with the end of the suspension period.
On July 9, 2021, the Department of the Interior and Local Government served Punsalan a six-month suspension order after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Pampanga found him and five other councilors guilty of “dishonesty, grave misconduct in office, gross negligence, gross dereliction of duty, and grave abuse of authority” over the purchase of that parcel of land near the municipal hall in 2020.
On Nov. 6, 2020, Governor Pineda ordered the two-month preventive suspension of Punsalan Jr. and councilors Romanoel Santos, Mark Macapagal, Irene Dagdag, Randell Bondoc, Archiebald Basilio, and Alekseyevich Vergara on the strength of SP Resolution No. 5529 arising from the same administrative case over the land purchase. Punto News Team
