Remulla warns ‘harshest penalty’ vs go’vt workers improper use of gov’t fuel

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla issued a stern warning against government personnel that used fuel commissioned for government vehicles for private vehicles.

Remulla expressed that the Office of the Ombudsman would punish such actions with the maximum penalty in accordance with the law, maintaining that it ruined public perception of government.

“These actions—including the siphoning of fuel, utilizing it for non-government vehicles, and faking receipts—will not be ignored by the office,” he emphasized.

The Ombudsman drew his cautionary remarks from a recently resolved case involving former Bohol Second District Board Member Vierna Mae Boniel-Magsalang.

Boniel-Magsalang was dismissed from her office as she was found guilty of two counts of Serious Dishonesty after she was found allocating fuel intended for a government vehicle to a private vehicle.

In the complaint filed by Bohol Third District Board Member Dionisio Joseph Balite, the accused had wrongfully used 100 liters of fuel in 2024.

The court hearing the case ruled that Boniel-Magsalang’s actions clearly demonstrated an attempt to circumvent accounting and auditing rules which was tantamount to committing “graft and corruption.”

It was likewise maintained that public officials were expected to exhibit the highest degree of honesty when it came to their work, stressing that the absence of accountability and integrity warranted administrative sanctions.

The former board member was stripped of her retirement benefits, a cancelled eligibility for public office, and a prohibition from taking a civil service examination.