ANGELES CITY, Pampanga — The members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of this city faces anti-graft and corrupton case as the United Pilipino Against Crime and Corruption (UPACC) filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday (Oct. 3).
The complaint filed with the motion for issuance of immediate preventive suspension against the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Angeles City, Pampanga who allegedly hired “ghost employees” in 2022.
Among the respondents are Vice Mayor Ma. Vicenta Vega Cabigting and the City Councilors: Joan Crystal Aguas, Marino Bañola, Crisanto Cortez, Danilo D. Lacson, Joseph Alfie Bonifacio, Edgardo Pamintuan, Jesus Sangil, Atty. Arvin Suller, Raco Paolo Del Rosario, Alexander Indiongco, ABC President Jeremias Alejandrino, and SK President Arnoah Prince Mandani.
According to Pyra Lucas, chairperson of UPACC, Commission on Audit (COA) report said that the respondents hired a total of 171 for year 2022 alone.
She said that the city council was tagged by the COA on inappropriate hiring of Job Order (JOs) and incomplete documentation on payrolls for JOs according to the annual Audit Report for the Year 2022.
“If the average salary of a job order status is P12,000 per month it will be a total of P24.6-M public fund spent in 2022 to unexplained employees with no single record in the city government,” Lucas pointed out.
Lucas said that it’s a clear violation of Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines which is a Malversation of Public Funds in Relations to RA No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Acts against the city council of Angeles City.
“We are also investigating that the city council members started this corruption scheme of ghost employees in 2019 without any work performance but taking salaries from the city government,” Lucas said.
Lucas emphasize that similar case of hiring of “ghost employees” against other local officials and employees of Angeles City LGU is being readied to be filed in Ombudsman anytime.
