Gualberto reinstated as San Fernando, LU mayor

SAN FERNANDO CITY Mayor Hermenegildo Dong Gualberto takes oath being reinstated officially as mayor of San Fernando City, La Union at Mayor’s Office, City Hall in La Union Nov. 4. – Erwin Beleo 

By Erwin Beleo

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union – Hermenegildo Dong Gualberto of this city took his oath at the Mayor’s Office in City Hall here on Nov. 4, after he was reinstated as mayor by virtue of a decision rendered by the Court of Appeals on Sept. 10.
Executive Judge Jeanylene T. Isip-Fukai of Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 2 administered the oath to Gualberto.
    The event was witnessed by the mayor’s families and friends.
    “Reinstated na po tayo ngayon, official na po, lahat po ay ating gagawin bilang tagapag silbi sa siyudad ng San Fernando (We have been reinstated, this is official. We will do everything to serve the city of San Fernando),” Gualberto said.
    Gualberto was charged with grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, grave abuse of authority and technical malversation of funds for supposedly allowing the use of at least P66.5 million from the city’s 2017 and 2018 internal development fund to upgrade the city plaza. 
    The case for technical malversation was dismissed due to insufficiency of evidence, while the charge of grave abuse of authority was included in the charge of grave misconduct.   
    The case was filed Jan. 28 last year by Samuel Jucar, chairman of Barangay Cadaclan and backed up by some 40 barangay captains. They said the mayor had no authorization from the city council to undertake the rehabilitation.
In his complaint, Jucar cited a 2018 report from the Commission on Audit (COA) showing that the plaza was rehabilitated using the city’s development fund.
    The COA said rehabilitating the plaza “does not fall squarely within the context of the projects that may be funded out of the 20 percent development fund.”
    On April 15, the Ombudsman slapped Gualberto with a six-month preventive suspension for the same case.
    Later, the Special Thirteenth Division of the Court of Appeals rejected the Ombudsman’s order to remove Gualberto as city mayor of this city.