A Punong barangay from San Joaquin, Iloilo has been slapped with charges of graft and grave abuse of authority before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The village head allegedly violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Republic Act (RA) 6713, or the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The complainant, a private citizen who requested anonymity, said that the punong barangay committed grave abuse of his authority by doing acts beyond what are expected of him.
He claimed that the respondent failed to issue a written summon when he was forced to appear at the barangay hall.
“The invitation was done without any written summon addressed to me, to my shock and dismay,” the complainant lamented.
The punong barangay also allegedly ordered his other officials to pick up the complainant through a motorcycle and ensure that he boards it and is transported to the barangay hall.
“He ordered barangay tanods and barangay officials to forcibly take me to the barangay hall. I was standing in the middle of the road, carrying 10 banana plants supposedly to be planted, when a speeding motorcycle suddenly took a sharp turn to block my way. The two onboard were directed by the Punong Barangay when they did those things,” said the complainant.
According to the complainant, during the barangay confrontation, the punong barangay told him to pay P30,000 so that he will not be reported to the police and will not face charges. This, despite the absence of evidence against him
The punong barangay, the complainant added, also allegedly exhibited manifest partiality when he issued a certification of ownership of cattle, the power to issue such only rests with the Municipal Treasurer.IMT
