THE Office of the Ombudsman on Monday suspended a municipal treasurer in Santa Maria, Laguna without pay for one month and one day over failure to properly secure ballot boxes during the 2022 national elections.
In a 17-page decision, the Ombudsman found the treasurer liable for simple neglect of duty after she failed to preserve the integrity of unopened ballot boxes, as required by the Omnibus Election Code.
A district representative filed the administrative complaint against the treasurer and a local mayor on March 4, alleging grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and serious dishonesty.
The complaint also accused the two officials of ballot tampering in connection to an election protest filed by the Laguna mayor’s husband before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
HRET inspection records showed that several boxes retrieved from Santa Maria lacked proper plastic and metal security seals or were secured only with packaging tape. Physicals from 16 clustered precincts were deemed to have doubtful integrity because of compromised seals and other physical anomalies, the anti-graft body said.
The Ombudsman found no evidence that the secretary had intentionally tampered with the ballots or acted with corruption or bad faith. However, the secretary’s admissions showed that unauthorized individuals had access to the storage area, indicating a failure to adequately safeguard the ballot boxes. — Francessca S. Abalos