DILG recommends disciplinary actions vs. 20 barangay execs for violating quarantine protocols

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday recommended before the Office of the Ombudsman the imposition of disciplinary action against 20 barangay officials in Metro Manila for violations of enhanced community quarantine protocols.

"We want to send a message sa mga pasaway na barangay official that the DILG will not tolerate any violation of ECQ protocols. As government officials, we should take the lead in following the law and not in breaking it,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a press statement.

"Wala tayong sasantuhin. Patuloy ang pagtanggap natin ng mga reklamo kaya patuloy din ang pagsasampa natin ng kaso sa Office of the Ombudsman,” he added.

DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño wrote a letter to Ombudsman Samuel Martires last June 16, saying that the 20 barangay officials were initially sent show cause orders to seek for their response to the allegations thrown against them.

According to the DILG executive, the response given by the local officials were "insufficient." Diño said they found enough evidence and ground to warrant their endorsement to the Office of the Ombudsman pursuant to Section 21 and 26 of RA 6770.

"Patong-patong ang mga reklamo at sumbong na natanggap namin laban sa kanila kaya sa kabila ng kanilang sagot sa show cause order ay minabuti naming ipadala pa din sa Ombudsman ang mga ebidensyang aming nakalap," Diño said.

Of the 20 punong barangays, five are from Caloocan City; another five from Quezon City; two from Parañaque City; and one each from the cities of Mandaluyong, Las Piñas, Manila, Makati, Pasay, Taguig, Marikina, and Muntinlupa.

He said their offenses involve violations in the implementation of physical distancing in engagements with the citizens of barangays, illegal cockfighting, gambling, poor enforcement of lockdown protocols as children were seen playing in the streets, negligence, and gross neglect of duty, among others.

Diño assured the public that more cases will reach the Office of the Ombudsman as his office is currently investigating more than a hundred barangay executives for various quarantine violations.—AOL, GMA News