THE office of Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos admits its limited power in disciplining local officials involved in illegal activities or operations.
According to the agency, only the Ombudsman has the authority to decide on the appropriate punishment for government officials.
In an interview with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, he stated that Tarlac officials and their chiefs of police must be held accountable for allowing the POGO operation in the area.
The DILG supports this stance and emphasizes that they are ready to file complaints against Tarlac officials if necessary.
“The DILG has no power to impose preventive suspension. We have no authority to dismiss or suspend anyone, nor even to reprimand, because people are expecting. That’s why we formed a task force and recommended this. This is a 7-man team whose findings we submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman. It’s up to them whether they want to take it or not, but if they want us to file a complaint, we have no problem, we will file a complaint,” stated Sec. Benhur Abalos, DILG.
This issue arose when a large POGO operation in Bamban, Tarlac, was discovered, collecting millions of pesos through widespread scamming.
As a result, the Bamban LGU and former Tarlac provincial officials were implicated for allowing the POGO to operate in the area.
They have formed a 7-man task force in coordination with the Office of the Solicitor General and other government agencies.
One of the investigation targets is Mayor Alice Guo’s involvement in POGO operations.
The DILG has also recommended suspending Mayor Guo during the ongoing investigation against her.
Mayor Guo stripped of control over police by DILG
Currently, the DILG has completely removed control over the police force from Bamban Mayor Alice Guo.
According to Abalos, this removal of Guo’s authority over the police follows questions about her nationality and alleged possible connections to the illegal activities of POGO within her jurisdiction.
“I have already instructed NAPOLCOM to initiate proceedings for the withdrawal of deputization. This means that after this investigation, of course, if there are sufficient grounds, we would withdraw the deputization of Mayor Guo. As a consequence, all the privileges attached herewith are revoked between its control and supervision of its local police,” Abalos added.
