Palace fires seniors body official for ‘dishonesty’
Malacañang has dismissed a commissioner of the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC) for misrepresenting his educational qualifications and for approving the release of midyear bonuses to unqualified employees.
In a 16-page decision signed April 23, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin dismissed NCSC Commissioner Reymar Mansilungan from government over serious dishonesty, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
According to Bersamin, public officials and employees are “obliged to remain true to the people at all times as mandated by the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.”
“Integrity is the capital of government workforce, hence dishonesty acts are much to be condemned,” he said.
Bonuses granted
Mansilungan was found liable for serious dishonesty for claiming that he earned his mass communication degree from the University of the Philippines, and for grave misconduct for granting bonuses to two ineligible contract of service employees of the NCSC.
He was also found administratively liable for conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service as his actions “tarnished the image and integrity of the NCSC.”
Former President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Mansilungan as NCSC commissioner on Jan. 17, 2022, for a term that would have ended on Sept. 17, 2027.
Mansilungan is the NCSC commissioner in charge of the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Cordillera regions. A member of Duterte’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), he chairs the political party’s senior citizens committee.
Bersamin’s decision stemmed from two complaints initially filed before the Ombudsman in 2023, which were consolidated and referred to Bersamin’s office.
The complainants were Miguelito Garcia and Senior Citizens party list Rep. Rodolfo Ordanes, who alleged that Mansilungan committed serious dishonesty, gross neglect of duty, grave misconduct, gross insubordination and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
They claimed that Mansilungan misrepresented his educational qualifications in his resume when he applied for the post of NCSC commissioner. UP later issued a certification that Mansilungan did not enroll in the state university at all.
Meals, drinks
The complainants also alleged that Mansilungan spent a significant amount of time and NCSC resources in attending to the commission’s affairs in Southern Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao which were beyond his jurisdiction.
They also cited a March 2023 audit observation memorandum of the Commission on Audit and alleged that Mansilungan charged the cost of extra meals and alcoholic drinks to the NCSC’s training funds, and disbursed NCSC funds for office rentals in Lucena City, which was supposedly a residential unit.
In addition, Mansilungan approved the grant of midyear bonuses to two contract of service employees of the NCSC who did not render at least four months of service.
The complainants also pointed to Mansilungan’s alleged lobby against the appointment of Social Welfare Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao as NCSC executive director in March 2022.
In response, Mansilungan said he considered himself a “professional journalist” even if he did not receive a bachelor’s degree, as a he completed his journalism studies from a correspondence school that was not recognized by the government.
He denied misrepresenting his educational background and said his daughter “inadvertently encoded” in his resume that UP was the last school that he attended.
Mansilungan said he no longer made an effort to correct his resume since he read Ordanes’ recommendation and thought that his education qualifications were “immaterial.”
False entry
Mansilungan said he relied on the guidelines of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) when he recommended the grant of bonuses to ineligible NCSC personnel who, he said, had already returned the money.
However, Bersamin was not convinced with Mansilungan’s explanation about his educational background.
The Executive Secretary said the NCSC official knowingly made the false entry in his resume, or at least knew about it, to deceive or lie about his educational background, and that his attempt to shift responsibility to his daughter was an afterthought.
He added that Mansilungan’s grant of midyear bonuses to ineligible personnel violated the DBM’s rules and regulations, which excluded contract of service workers.
Bersamin said it was a “flagrant disregard of established rules and a clear willful intent to violate the law attendant to the act,” making him liable for grave misconduct.
