Armada rebukes Mejorada complaint
ARMADA
Vice Governor Roberto Armada rebuked the administrative case filed by provincial administrator Manuel Boy Mejorada against him at the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas.
The administrative case filed last January 2006 stemmed from Armada's failure to sign the Sangguniang Panlalawigan resolution giving authority to Governor Niel Tupas Sr. to enter into a P100 million loan agreement with the Land Bank of the Philippines. Said money was intended for the purchase of several heavy equipment for the province.
In his reply dated June 14, 2006, Armada pointed that he does not need to sign the said resolution to make it effective.
He also denied that he intentionally refused to sign the resolution to derail and delay the project.
Armada cited that he returned the subject resolution to the SP secretariat unsigned after learning that some board members were planning to question the validity of said resolution.
MEJORADA
"Because of the complaints of some members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, herein Respondent, in his honest belief, and having in mind to allow these "some members" of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan time to ventilate their ideas and comments/opposition to Resolution No. 2005-156, returned to the Secretariat of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on October 17, 2005, the Resolution No. 2005-156 unsigned," reads Armada's reply.
Armada pointed that without his signature the said resolution could be deemed attested fifteen days after he had it returned to the SP secretariat.
Further, the vice governor said that his signing of the minutes of the October 4, 2005 regular session of the SP, in which Resolution No. 2005-156 was one of the items, affirmed the approval of said resolution.
To note, Mejorada in his complaint pointed that Armada violated Section 466, par. (a), sub-par. (1) and (5) of the Local Government Code of 1991 and the Internal Rules and Procedures of the SP which pertains to the latter's mandated functions as presiding officer.
Mejorada further claimed that the vice governor was in cahoots with the so-called "conscience bloc" in the SP who filed a civil case in court against the implementation of the said resolution.
"The filing of (the) case was a legal maneuver to provide (Armada) an excuse not to sign the resolution, or a 'moro-moro' in the local dialect," said Mejorada's complaint.