This has reference to the administrative case filed against my person that was initiated by La Trinidad Councilor Nestor Fongwan, Jr.
Due to the abusive acts of Fongwan against me during their regular session where I was a resource person, I filed an oral defamation case against him.
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office found probable cause resulting in a criminal information against him in the Municipal Trial Court of La Trinidad, Benguet. He appealed the resolution of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in San Fernando, La Union which denied his appeal.
In an obvious case of vindictiveness, Fongwan has convinced several people to execute affidavits against me which he filed before the Civil Service Commission and Provincial Prosecutor of Benguet for alleged graft and corrupt practices act.
Those who executed affidavits against me were James Benos, Rogelio C. Bugtong, Ambrosio Alawas, Architect Bismark C. Paran, John D. Kimpay, Caesar Juan, Pedro Limog Paredes, and Arch. Wendell Aplaten.
The Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed six of the eight complaints but it filed in court the complaints of Benos and Bugtong. The two graft and corruption cases were raffled to the Benguet RTC Branch 63. After the presentation of the prosecution’s evidence, Judge Jennifer Humiding had dismissed both cases for obvious lack of merit without the need of me presenting evidence.
The separate administrative case filed against me by Fongwan before the Civil Service Commission using the same eight complainants resulted in the dismissal of the seven complaints for lack of merit except for the complaint of Bugtong.
The case filed by Bugtong deals with my receiving, on behalf of Engr. Augusto Gaki, the latter’s professional fee which he agreed upon with Bugtong. Since Gaki was outside La Trinidad, Benguet at that time, I recommended him when Bugtong asked for a civil engineer who could complete the lacking requirements of his application for a locational clearance.
The act of receiving the amount for Gaki who performed all the things he agreed upon with Bugtong is what the CSC held as my fault, not because the money was intended to me.
In both the criminal and administrative cases, Fongwan never appealed in the RTC or CSC to testify and prove his complaint and just let the people he used against me to testify for him. — ENGR. EMERSON TABERNERO, zoning administrator, La Trinidad, Benguet