Ilocos mayor suspended 4 months over land tiff

By Jerry Padilla

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte – Members of the provincial board have meted Pagudpud town Mayor Maja Sales with four-month “vacation” from her post, instead of six-month suspension they earlier had agreed upon, for grave misconduct.

The board members made the decision after Sales appealed her suspension.

The board members issued the ruling following the motion for reconsideration filed by Sales and after almost a year of hearings on the complaint filed by town resident Allan Vincent Caluya, who alleged that Sales unlawfully used her mayor's powers to appropriate pieces of land, which he contested.

Sales slammed the decision, saying she only consider the ruling final and executory if Gov. Imee Marcos approves it.

In May, another Ilocos Norte town mayor was temporarily “axed” from his post after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan imposed a three-month suspension on him in relation to administrative raps over his failure to quickly approve the clearance for the terminal leave pay of slain Adams municipal treasurer Elpidio Sy.

Adams mayor Eric Baoingan, who went back to his post in August, did not question his suspension and turned over his  post to vice mayor Wagner Poking as the town’s officer-in-charge.

Last year,  Dingras town mayor Marineth Gamboa was removed from office by the Comelec after it ruled the lady mayor was disqualified from the 2011 elections for being a “fugitive”.  The town’s vice mayor Erdio Valenzuela took over as the town’s chief executive.

Gamboa will be seeking to regain her post in the 2013 polls.

Valenzuela has filed a disqualification case against Gamboa.