The Office of the Ombudsman has found former Mayor Melchor Quemado, Sr*. of Sta. Fe, Leyte, guilty of Grave Misconduct and ordered his dismissal from the service. The dismissal order carries the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification to hold public office, forfeiture of all benefits and cancellation of civil service eligibility.
The Ombudsman found that in December 2005, Quemado incurred unnecessary and improper rent expense of P16,000.00 in favor of Hayward Travelodge in Tacloban City. Hayward is owned by his brother, Anastacio Quemado.
According to the Ombudsman’s Decision, “the rental was irregular since (1) it was an unnecessary expense, there being available office space in the municipal building to the house the consultants conducting a feasibility study; (2) Hayward’s location, which is about 21 kilometers from the municipality of Sta. Fe, renders it impractical as a venue for the preparation of the feasibility study; (3) the check payment for the rental for two months was made to respondent instead of Hayward; (4) Hayward had no business permit when it transacted with the municipality.”
“By entering into the transaction, respondent gave his brother, as proprietor of Hayward, unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference when he rented the office space without the benefit of public bidding, not to mention the fact that Hayward had no business permit,” added the Decision. ###