PANIQUI, Tarlac—The death of Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) Rep. Enrique “Henry” Cojuangco of Tarlac last month softened the stand of the Sangguniang Bayan here against its chief executive, Mayor Miguel “Dors” C. Rivilla.
Councilor Evelyn David of NPC has withdrawn the administrative case she filed against Rivilla at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, claiming she has lost interest in pursuing the case.
She, however, added that her withdrawal of the complaint is without prejudice to its refiling.
Docketed as SP Administrative Case 02-2014, David charged Rivilla for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution as well as misconduct and abuse of authority when Rivilla allowed the payment of the salaries and wages of contractual and job-order municipal employees, most of whom have been working at the hospital owned by the local government for months.
David is the wife of Rivilla’s political rival, Rommel David, who occupied the town hall after Rivilla was suspended by Gov. Victor Yap based on the complaints against the mayor.
In a notice to the provincial council, the Paniqui councilor prayed that the “above entitled case be considered withdrawn by the plaintiff without prejudice, that the undersigned will be submitting the foregoing motion for the resolution of this honorable council, without further arguments, immediately upon receipt hereof.”
In his formal reply to the case, Rivilla maintained that the payment to the employees was aboveboard as he cited numerous legal documents and position papers from various official sources, including, among others, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
“These employees have rendered so much hours of service to the public and, therefore, only deserved to be paid. Otherwise, withholding their salaries and wages was tantamount to a violation of their right to just compensation,” the mayor said.
Rivilla added that, for most of those contractual employees, delayed wages also meant delayed or no food for the table for their children and other members of their families.
Some observers believed, however, that, with the withdrawal of the case, David has lost her credibility as a public crusader.
“If she was really fighting for truth and [good] governance, she should have allowed the case to go its usual course of hearings and let the SP decide on it. After all, she was already able to have Rivilla preventively suspended for 60 days last year,” a Paniqui businessman said.
Paniqui is the hometown of the late President Corazon C. Aquino, a first cousin of the late congressman Cojuangco, who is an uncle of both President Aquino and Rivilla.