The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas has found Moises Padilla town mayor Ella Garcia Yulo and two other officials guilty of grave abuse of authority and neglect of duty in connection with an complaint filed by a local business owner.
The administrative case was filed on September 11, 2023, by Ramona Nalagon Villaflor, owner of a funeral parlor, who alleged that the local government failed to issue her a business permit despite her full compliance with all regulatory requirements.
Included in the decision are Archie Montelibano, head of the Human Resource Management Office, and Warren Jocson, officer-in-charge of the Business Permit and Licensing Office.
The Ombudsman’s ruling, dated February 20, 2025, was only made available to the public on Wednesday, August 6.
In the decision, the three officials were ordered to pay a fine equivalent to six months’ worth of their salaries. The amount may be deducted from their retirement benefits or leave credits and will be payable to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Meanwhile, Yulo is expected to file a Motion for Reconsideration (MR) seeking to reverse the ruling. While she has yet to discuss the case in detail, the mayor maintained that such challenges are among the difficulties commonly faced in public service, and stressed her continued commitment to serving her constituents.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.