Paragas rebuts Jardinico's claim
Iloilo -- Former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Executive Director Vicente Paragas belied the accusation of her former subordinate Forest Management Specialist Lucia Jardinico that he dismissed her due to personal grudge.
Reading the report earlier published in this paper through the internet, Paragas who is now assigned at the DENR Central Office in Manila told this writer by phone that Jardinico's name was deleted from the payroll on March 1, 2005 as a result of her defiance to report to DENR Roxas City office where she was officially transferred December 2004.
Earlier, Jardinico alleged that she was reassigned to Roxas City as a punishment for leading a series of protest actions against Paragas when he was still the regional executive director. Paragas along with other DENR employees protested the delay in the release of their salaries during the time.
Jardinico claimed her transfer to Roxas City was unjustifiable.
As a result of the transfer Jardinico allegedly filed formal complaints against Paragas in the Civil Service Commission and at the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas. The complaints however, were all dropped and dismissed, Paragas said.
Paragas further said Jardinico has an attitude problem and was a constant troublemaker even among her peers in the office.
Jardinico was chief of the Forest Management Services Division of DENR during the time.
Paragas said his decision to transfer Jardinico to Roxas City was done without malice and "was a sound decision to keep her sanity intact."
"All I asked from her was to report to the office where she was officially given a new assignment but she was defiant," explained Paragas.
Jaridinico was reinstated in the payroll August 2005 upon the assumption of Regional Executive Director Celso Loriega.
Her name was again deleted January this year when Julian Amador replaced Loriega.
The legal opinion tendered by Legal Division chief Atty. Romeo Mijares that the March 1, 2005 memorandum of Paragas remains unrevoked in the absence of a written order revoking the same became the basis in deleting her name from the payroll anew.
"Her continuous refusal to follow the order may eventually result to a dismissal from the service," added Paragas.