Ombudsman indicts Leyte mayor for graft

TACLOBAN CITY — The Office of the Ombudsman recommended the filing of a graft case in court against Tanauan, Leyte Mayor Gina Merilo for hiring two of her running mates who lost in the 9 May 2022 elections within the one-year prohibition of losing candidates.

In an eight-page decision, Ombudsman Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer Jose Melandro Garcia found probable cause in the criminal complaint filed against Merilo.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires approved the decision on 30 September 2024.

In her complaint, Mildred Lopez said Merilo hired on 1 July 2022 her losing running mate for vice mayor Quintin Octa Jr. for the job order position of Project Engineer. Octa is a dentist by profession.

Lopez said Merilo also hired Reynalda Almaden, who run as her councilor for the job position of a mobile nurse.

Lopez insisted that Merilo was aware that Octa will be performing function of a municipal administrator, which is a plantilla position, and not the task of a project engineer.

Likewise, she said, Almaden was hired for a position pertaining to public health which is also a plantilla position.

In her counter affidavit submitted to the Ombudsman, Merilo dismissed the complaint as politically-motivated concocted by her political enemies to discredit her administration.

She said that as a first-termer mayor, she was not aware of the hiring process and that she trusted the Human Resource, Budget and Accounting offices which she consulted before hiring the two.

She added that the municipality of Tanauan did not suffer undue injury since the two returned the monetary benefits they received.