The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of Malversation charges against Wilson Nandang, the former mayor of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, for facilitating the release of his salary in August 2011 despite being placed under preventive suspension by the Office of the President. Nandang was also found guilty of Simple Misconduct and was meted the penalty of suspension of one month and one day.
In its Resolution, the Ombudsman emphasized that as a rule, “government employees who are preventively suspended pending investigation, such as in this case, are not entitled to the payment of their salaries.”
Simple Misconduct is defined as a transgression of some established rule of action, an unlawful behavior, or negligence committed by a public officer. ###