Western Visayas consultant pormal nang kinasuhan sa Ombudsman

Pormal nangg ipinagharap ng kasong usurpation of authority or official function sa Office of the Ombudsman ang isang Western Visayas consultant ng isang independent advocacy group at think-tank

Sa inihaing kaso sa Ombudsman noong June 1 na may complaint reference # V-2020-06-762, tumatayong complainant si Ben Cyrus Ellorin, Secretary General ng Aksyon for Governance and the Environment o kilala bilang Pinoy Aksyon, habang tumatayo naman bilang respondent si Jane Javellana, Western Visayas Presidential Consultant at may tanggapan sa The Greenary 301 Pope John Paul II Ave., Cebu City 6000 Cebu .

Nauna rito ay ipinagharap na ng reklamo ng Aksyon Pinoy sa Office of the Presidential Assistance for the Vusayas (OPAV) sa ilalim ni Undersecretary Michael Lloyd Dino at hinikayat ito na gumawa ng aksyon laban kay Javellana dahil sa ilang insidente ng pagpapanggap o misrepresentation at usurpation of authority or official function.

Sa isang letter of complaint na isinumite ng Pinoy Aksyon sa pamamagitan ni Ellorin sa tanggapan ni OPAV Assistant Secretary Anthony Gerard “Jonji” Gonzales, na siyang namamahala sa lahat ng mahahalagang isyu at usapin sa Western Visayas (Region 6), sinabi ng grupo na ang katungkulan ni Javellana ay nangangailangan ng integridad, pero wala aniya nito ang consultant o hindi nito na-meet ang nasabing requirement.

Ayon sa Pinoy Aksyon maraming umanong pagkakataon na ipinakita ni Javellana ang kanyang pagpapanggap o misrepresentation and usurpation of authority kabilang na dito ang pang-eengganyo niya sa media na tawagin “Presidential Assistant for the Visayas,” Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas,” Presidential Adviser for Western Visayas.” Ang ebidensya ay nasa mga artikulo na lumabas online na sinulat at ipinost ng mga media outlets na ang karamihan ay kakilala ni Javellana.

Lumilitaw na si Javellana ay aktibo at sumagot sa mga isyung ibinanato sa kanya sa social media pero hindi nito nagawang itama ang maling tawag sa kanya bilang ‘Presidential Assistant for the Visayas,” “Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas,” o “Presidential Adviser for Western Visayas.”

Ayon pa sa grupo, gustong-gusto ni Javellana sa maling bansag sa kanya at gusto niyang lumaganap pa ito at may katagalan na rin itong nanhyayari.
Noon pa dapat ay kumilos na si Javellana para itama ito. Ang kawalang galang niya sa protocol ay nagpapakita ng hayagang pambabastos sa posisyon at pagbalewala sa awtoridad ni OPAV Secretary Dino at OPA Assistant Secretary Gonzales. Posible rin aniya na pinakinabangan niya ang pagpapanggap para sa sariling kapakanan.

Kapuna-puna din ayon kay Ellorin na maliban pa sa ‘pagpapanggap’ ni Javellana ay maari din itong makasuhan at maparusahan sa paglabag sa probisyom ng Republic Act No. 11469 o “Bayanihan to Heal as One” Act. Section 6(f) ng nasabing batas na nagsasaad ng –imprisonment of two (2) months or a fine of not less than ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) but not more than one million pesos (P1,000.000.00) or both” — calls out “individuals or groups creating, perpetrating, or spreading false information regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) crisis on social media and other platforms, such information having no valid or beneficial effect on the population, and are clearly geared to promote chaos, panic, anarchy, fear, or confusion; and those participating in cyber incidents that make use or take advantage of the current crisis situation to prey on the public through scams, phishing, fraudulent emails, or other similar acts.”

Isang insidente na pasok dito ay ang umanoy “hijacking” ng flight ng isang Western Visayan-based medical technicians na nakatakdang lumipad papuntang Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) sa Manila para sa isang training. Umabuso umano si Javellana nang kwestyunin nito ang validity ng statement ni OPAV Assistant Secretary Gonzales. Ito aniya ay maliwanag na kabiguan para kay Javellana (intensyunal man o hindi) na kilalanin at igalang ang awtoridad ng nakatataas sa kanya.

Dahil dito sinabi ni Ellorin na maari ng sampahan ng kaso si Javellana ng usurpation of authority or official functions.

Sinasaad sa provisions ng Section One, Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, “any person who shall knowingly and falsely represent himself to be an officer, agent or representative of any department or agency of the Philippine Government or of any foreign government, or who, under pretense of official position, shall perform any act pertaining to any person in authority or public officer of the Philippine Government or any foreign government, or any agency thereof, without being lawfully entitled to do so, shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.”

Ayon pa sa press statement ng Pinoy Aksyon kinumpirma nito na: “As a consultant, Javellana may not be governed by the rules and regulations implemented by the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Then again, as she is appointed by the President Rodrigo Duterte to serve the nation, then her conduct should be above reproach. Any violation or disregard of protocols will reflect badly on OPAV and, ultimately, the Office of the President. This is not something that we can risk.”

“The reputation of the OPAV’s highest ranking officials and the President himself could be tainted by Javellana’s actions. That’s why the group had to submit our letter of complaint to OPAV.”, ayon pa kay Ellorin.

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