Dominguez orders Finance officials dismissed, suspended

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III has ordered the dismissal of two officers and the suspension of several others, the Department of Finance said Tuesday.

In an emailed statement, the DOF said Dominguez directed the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) to carry out the Office of the Ombudsman's ruling against municipal treasurer Aniceta Suyat who was found guilty of grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

She was allegedly involved in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
 
The Ombudsman also ordered the cancellation of Suyat’s eligibility, the forfeiture of her retirement benefits, and her perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
 
In a separate case, Dominguez also ordered the dismissal from service Bubong, Lanao del Sur Municipal Officer Candidato Macabangon for serious dishonesty as ruled by the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Talaingod, Davao del Norte Municipal Officer Jose Pastor Jr. was ordered suspended by Dominguez for three months without pay in compliance with the directive of the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao which found him liable for simple neglect of duty. 
 
Dominguez also earlier ordered the forfeiture of retirement benefits of Cipriano Plazos, the municipal treasurer of Katipunan, Zamboanga del Norte after the Ombudsman found him administratively guilty of “grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.”
 
The DOF said Dominguez ordered the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to suspend for six months without pay Customs officer Jerry Gomez Ponce for failing to declare for three consecutive years a number of properties in his annual Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
 
Dominguez also directed the filing of administrative charges against the fugitive Laoag City Treasurer Elena Asuncion.

He has tasked the National Bureau of Investigation and the Commission on Audit to conduct deeper probes into the over P85 million worth of missing public funds with which she was accountable. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News