Cebu mayor faces raps for unlawful appointment  

A town mayor in Cebu is now facing criminal charges for alleged unlawful appointment of a person in public office, the Office of the Ombudsman said Wednesday.

Based on the resolution, Consolacion town Mayor Teresa Agapito-Alegado has been charged before the Sandiganbayan for the unlawful appointment in of Engr. Danilo Capangpangan in 2011 as the General Services Officer of the municipality. 

Alegado is facing one count of violation of Article 244 of the Revised Penal Code, said the Ombudsman. It states that "[a]ny public officer who shall knowingly nominate or appoint to any public office any person lacking the legal qualifications therefore, shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding P1,000."

In its resolution, the Ombudsman found that Capangpangan's appointment was invalidated by the Civil Service Commission in view of his failure to meet the educational and experience requirement for the position.

"As the appointing authority, Mayor Alegado is presumed to know the educational qualification required for the position of General Services Officer at the time she appointed Capangpangan to said position, but she however, disregarded it in flagrant violation of Article 244 of the Revised Penal Code," the Ombudsman said.

In the May 9 local elections, Alegado, a member of the ruling Liberal Party, was re-elected in a landslide with 39,460 votes against Analee Gungob of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) with 19,253 votes. —John Ted Cordero/KBK, GMA News