• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the complaints for grave misconduct and violation of Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act filed against La Castellana Vice Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan for lack of substantial evidence and lack of probable cause.
The complaints were lodged when Mangilimutan was still the town mayor.
Complainant Elvin dela Fuente alleged in his complaints that Maricel Madrigal and Jocelyn Magbanua, who were employed as a household helper and laundrywoman, respectively, of Mangilimutan served as job order employees of the municipal government assigned in the Clean and Green Program and received salaries as such.
The claims of Dela Fuente were supported by the written statements of Madrigal and Magbanua, Ombudsman records showed.
In her counter-affidavit, Mangilimutan dismissed the allegations as untrue and baseless, asserting that the complaints have been used to harass her and are politically-motivated.
De la Fuente challenged Mangilimutan in the vice mayoral race during the May 2025 elections.
The vice mayor described the undated and unsworn statements of Magdrigal and Magbanua as “lies”, stressing that she did not engage their services as household staff, nor did they receive any salary from the municipal government.
They were only included to work under the Clean and Green Program for a period of one month, from March 11 to April 15, 2020.
However, Mangilimutan admitted to have personally paid Madrigal for rendering massage services, and Magbanua, who offered to do some laundry service as she needed extra income for her family.
The Ombudsman ruling stated that the basic rule is that mere allegation is not evidence, and is not equivalent to proof, noting that charges were based on mere suspicion and speculation, which should not be given credence.
When the complainant relies on mere conjectures and suspicions, and fails to substantiate his allegations, the complaint must be dismissed for lack of merit, it added.
In the same vein, the administrative complaint for grave misconduct, which arose from the above-discussed criminal complaint, must likewise fail, the Ombudsman further said. | GB
