Two officials in Quezon City are asking the Ombudsman to reconsider their suspension and disputing the audit findings behind the case. Perci Cendaña has submitted his sworn answer to Apollo Quiboloy’s libel complaint. In Bulacan and Davao Occidental, separate investigations concern whether construction records matched the work delivered.
1
QC OFFICIALS DISPUTE THE AUDIT CASE AND CHALLENGE SUSPENSION
Quirino 3B (Claro) barangay chair Ronald Tagle and treasurer Richelle Ann Santillan say they sought reconsideration on October 30 of the Ombudsman’s six-month preventive suspension order. They said they had submitted their counter-affidavit, a sworn written answer, on October 26.
The administrative case concerns alleged unsupported spending and non-existent projects, with accusations of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty. Their response addresses both: in the barangay’s October 30 statement, the officials denied ghost projects and said most spending disallowances had already been lifted or resolved by the Commission on Audit.
That makes the actual COA decisions important. A disallowance concerns spending the auditor rejected. Without those records, their claim cannot be read as an answer to every spending allegation or as proof that every disputed project existed. The COA decisions behind the claim were not obtained for this report.
Their request also raises a separate question: can the suspension continue while they challenge it? The Supreme Court answered that legal point in its Gobenciong decision: asking the Ombudsman to reconsider does not, by itself, stop a preventive suspension. No ruling lifting this particular order has been verified. A request to return to office and permission to return are different things.
2
CENDAÑA’S ANSWER PUTS THE WORDS AND THEIR CONTEXT IN DISPUTE
Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña filed a counter-affidavit on October 30 asking the Pasig City Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss Quiboloy’s libel and cyberlibel complaint. The submission adds his sworn defense to the pending complaint.
His argument is that remarks from a radio interview were fair comment on issues of public concern, protected by freedom of expression. He says the interview should be read as a whole and disputes the claim that he declared Quiboloy guilty.
Quiboloy’s lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, has argued that the remarks presumed guilt while cases were still pending.
The dispute here concerns Cendaña’s speech. It is separate from the criminal cases against Quiboloy, whose outcomes this complaint cannot decide. Equally, submitting a free-speech defense does not mean prosecutors have accepted it. The filing itself supplies no dismissal decision.
3
BULACAN CASE QUESTIONS THE RECORDS USED TO APPROVE AND PAY FOR WORK
Five Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineers face six-month preventive suspension orders over three 2024 flood-control contracts in Baliuag, Bulacan, reported at about ₱188.9 million. The projects concern reinforced-concrete slope protection in Piel, San Roque and Sulivan.
The engineers are Irene Ontingco, Kevin Geronimo, John Michael Ramos, Bernardo Villafuerte and Michelle Cruz. Investigators allege that documents covering implementation, inspection, acceptance, billing and payment were falsified to make contractual and legal conditions appear satisfied.
Those records cover different steps. Inspection concerns checking the work; acceptance records its acceptance by the government; billing and payment concern what was claimed and paid. A contract’s value alone cannot show whether work was delivered. The reported ₱188.9 million is the value of the contracts under scrutiny, not a final calculation of money stolen.
The immediate action concerns the engineers’ positions while administrative cases proceed. It does not certify the projects’ present condition. The specific project records needed to check the alleged discrepancies were not obtained.
4
DAVAO FARM-ROAD ORDERS PRECEDED THE DA ANNOUNCEMENT BY MORE THAN A MONTH
The Department of Agriculture’s October 29 announcement concerns suspension orders dated September 21. The complaints were filed on May 21. Those are three different steps, not one new case opened this week.
The DA says eight Davao Occidental farm-to-market road projects worth more than ₱94 million were recorded as completed and fully paid even though its checks found unfinished work or little evidence of the reported construction. One project, according to the agency, was still being built despite having been fully paid in 2023. In another, its auditors found no graveled pathway.
Those examples describe different alleged failures. They do not show that every one of the eight roads was wholly non-existent. The question is what each project’s completion and payment records said, compared with what inspectors actually found.
The September orders name James Ryan Jabonero, Jonathan Relacion and Zesrel Cuga. The DA says they take effect upon service and last no more than six months. Its announcement gives no service date, so October 29 cannot simply be used as the start of their suspension. For farmers, the unresolved construction question is whether the routes funded to connect them with buyers were delivered.
BOTTOM LINE
The QC response needs to be matched with the COA decisions it cites. Cendaña’s filing needs a prosecutor’s decision, not a verdict inferred from either side’s statement. The construction cases need project-by-project records of inspection and payment. These are the documents that can move the stories beyond an announcement.
Google’s Preferred Sources feature lets you choose publications you want Google to prioritize for you. Select “Add to Preferred Sources” to make MCT easier to find in Top Stories and other eligible Google results. This does not subscribe you to email.
Morning Coffee Thoughts is reader-supported. Contributions help pay for research tools, hosting, and the work required to verify and explain each development.
Monthly PayPal subscription — choose your support amount.
