• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Office of the Ombudsman has found Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo and two other town officials guilty for grave abuse of authority and neglect of duty in connection with the denial of access to government services.
Yulo as well as Warren Jocson, officer-in-charge of the Business Permits and Licensing Office, and Archie Montelibano, human resource and management officer-designate, were each ordered to pay a fine equivalent to six months of their respective salaries, payable to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The amount may be deducted from their retirement benefits or leave credits, and will also be payable to the Office of the Ombudsman.
The imposition of fines on the respondents stemmed from the complaint of Ramona Nalagon Villaflor, owner of Luz Agustin Nalagon Memorial Homes, that caters funeral services in Moises Padilla and the neighboring towns.
She alleged that the respondents did not issue her a business permit despite full compliance with all the regulatory requirements.
Montelibano and Jocson, in their respective counter-affidavits, said the complainant and her sister, Luzviminda Nalagon Leano, submitted their respective applications for business permit, with the same address of the funeral parlor located in Barangay 4 Poblacion, which confused them.
They said they cannot be faulted in holding the issuance of the business permit in abeyance while determining the completeness of the documents submitted by both parties.
Both also said they only exercised due diligence in the performance of their duty as public officers, who are expected to perform their functions in good faith.
By failing to act on the complainant’s application for renewal of her business permit for several months, on the ground that the complainant’s sister was simultaneously applying for the same business permit involving the same business and location, they should be held administratively liable for grave abuse of authority and neglect of duty, the Ombudsman said.
The Ombudsman said it finds substantial evidence against the respondents for violation of Section 21(e) of Republic Act 11032, amending RA 9485 for failing to render government services within the prescribed processing time on any application or request without due cause.
The Ombudsman noted that the complainant applied for the renewal of her business permit in January 2023, but was denied only in June of the same year, or five months later, which is well beyond the maximum processing time prescribed under RA 11032.
Villaflor is a relative of former vice mayor and mayoral candidate Ian Villaflor, who was defeated by Yulo in the May 2025 elections.
The Ombudsman decision, dated Feb. 20 this year, was only made available to the public on Aug. 6, copies of which were obtained by reporters.
On Thursday (Aug. 7), Yulo said they will file a motion for reconsideration.
“This is one of the challenges we face in public service. We cannot please everybody, and there may indeed be complaints, but this will not weaken us in our commitment in serving for the good of the many,” she added. | GB
