Quezon City Councilor Roderick Paulate and three others were charged guilty by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales for falsification of official documents, serious dishonesty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and grave misconduct.
"Paulate and 1st District Rep. Francisco Calalay Jr., as well as liaison officers Flordeliza Alvarez and Vicente Bajamunde, are perpetually disqualified from holding public office. Their civil service eligibilities are also cancelled, and their retirement benefits forfeited", the report noted.
According to a report by ABS-CBN News, Paulate and Calalay hired sixty “ghost contractual employees” who occupied various positions such as field inspectors, district coordinators and office aides. They also received salaries ranging from P5,000 to P10,000.
The investigation also found out that there were no birth certificates and NBI clearances submitted when the “employees” applied only endorsement letters. Their signatures are also inconsistent.
“Alvarez and Bajamunde were the ones who claimed the processed payrolls from the disbursing officer to have them signed by the supposed listed job contractors, returned the signed payrolls to the disbursing officer, and collected the full amount. They, however, failed to satisfactorily explain why each job contractor had different signatures appearing in the subject payrolls,” the decision read.
By Pinoy Showbiz Daily
