ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Antique finally got a quorum, a month after its work had been stalled with the suspension of eight of its members by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In an order dated September 2, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos designated three temporary SP members, all second highest officers of their local government leagues. They are:
- Mart Giric Galido of the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation
- Ricky Lavega of the Philippine Councilor’s League
- Julius Pierre Pacificador of the Liga ng mga Barangay
Their appointment forms a quorum for the provincial board, whose membership had been reduced to six after eight of its 14 members were ordered suspended for six months starting August 1.
Urgent legislation and approvals needed
Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao told Rappler that several urgent and critical legislation have been stalled for almost a month that the SP was unable to function. Among them were the salaries of individuals hired through job orders, the budget for the 50th Binirayan Festival, and the funding for Antique’s hosting of the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association meet in March 2025.
Also affected were the operational budgets for district hospitals and government offices, and the memorandum of agreements (MOA) of the province with national government and other private entities.
Cadiao said that the distribution of the P50-million Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk (PAFF) of the province was also delayed. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally distributed the assistance in Antique on June 27.
“We can’t give the PAFF, and the farmers have been reeling because it is the time of ‘tigurutom’ (famine) in the province since it is the season of no harvest and the heavy rains are also affecting us,” she said.
“We can’t give it because the MOA between the Department of Agriculture and the governor has not yet been approved by the SP, and the money is just there,” she added.
Based on the data of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Antique has 7,067 PAFF beneficiaries considered severely affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
The PCO previously announced that each province is only given 30 days to distribute the assistance, liquidate, and submit it to the Office of the President.
With the suspension and the delay of the distribution, Cadiao said they have asked the PCO for an extension on the distribution until September 15 or another two weeks.
Cadiao has urged the DILG to address the urgent issues, especially on the delivery of government services.
“Although we are very thankful, it is very delayed. The legislation of the SP has been delayed for months. If this vacancy was filled in just two weeks, this would not have happened,” she added.
Why 8 provincial board members are suspended
The Ombudsman on August 1 suspended for six months Egidio Elio, Rony Molina, Victor Condez, Alfie Jay Niquia, Plaridel Sanchez IV, Mayella Mae Ladislao, Kenneth Dave Gasalao, and Julius Cezar Tajanlangit.
The suspension stemmed from the administrative charges filed by Ray Ventura and Stephen Jules Siblag, alleging that the eight officials had refused to perform their duties as members of the SP.
The two complainants accused the SP officials of oppression, grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, and gross neglect under the 2017 Revised Rules of Administrative Cases in the Civil Service and violation of Section 4 of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The Ombudsman said they found “sufficient grounds to preventively suspend [the members] considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt.”
The complainants accused the officials of delaying the approval of Cadiao’s Supplemental Budget No. 1 prepared on May 9.
The budget included a request of P1.075 billion, in which P765 million is intended for electricity services to several infrastructures.
Though the budget request was tagged for “prompt action” from the SP, the officials “deliberately delayed action,” the complainants said.
In its regular session on June 3, the eight members boycotted the meeting, preventing a quorum and thus halting any official action on the budget.
The Ombudsman said the accused SP officials failed to provide any written counter-arguments and only relied on oral objections to the budget, particularly the allocations for installing solar systems in hospitals, homes, and streetlights, totaling P765 million.
The funds for the electricity services are supposed to be sourced from Antique’s 80% of the proceeds derived from the development and utilization of other sources of energy, as mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991.
In its regular session on June 10, the eight officials deleted the budgetary allocations despite the detailed explanations or disquisitions from the provincial administrator.
As a result of the deletion, over 200 barangays and 15,000 households in the province were deprived of home solar systems. – Rappler.com
Rjay Zuriaga Castor is a 2024 Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow. He is a reporter for The Daily Guardian, an Iloilo-based newspaper.