"Imagine being transferred to a workplace more than 100 kilometers from your home."
"Imagine being transferred to a workplace more than 100 kilometers from your home."
If the allegations against Eastern Samar Acting Governor Marcelo Ferdinand Picardal are proven to be true, he could easily qualify as one of the worst government officials this country was most unfortunate to have.
Imagine reassigning government employees hundreds of kilometers away from their residences, the financial implications of which may cost these employees thousands of pesos more in additional expenses for transportation.
Among those reassigned included an employee who had just reported back to work after delivering baby through Caesarian section, and was transferred from Felipe Abrigo Memorial Hospital, Guiuan to Taft District Hospital, some 120 kilometers away from her residence.
Thus, she has to take a 240-kilometer ride each day to and from work via a public utility jeepney, to the detriment of her fragile condition.
The only crime these employees committed was that they were supposedly identified in one way or another with Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, who will be slugging it out with Picardal for the province’s gubernatorial post this coming May.
But even granting that these employees are really sympathetic to Evardone, would that justify punishing them just because of their political preferences? Picardal should remember these employees, whoever they support, cannot do anything detrimental or beneficial for his candidacy as they are prohibited from campaigning for any political candidate. They are government employees.
It’s a good thing, however, that these employees have mustered enough courage to turn the table against Picardal.
Nineteen provincial employees whom Picardal had reassigned unjustly—Yolanda Obon, Arriane Faye Cabel, Dalisay Cecista, Ruel Cadiz, Imelda Norombaba, Grace Lalosa, Ofelia Norombaba, Alex Nebril, Ana Ballete, Cesar Dadison, Elisa Dado, Gil Patricio Dado, Helen Cadalin, Cirilo Quinsayas, Rowel Moscosa, Gwendolina Gunda, Vivian Lavado, Ariel Evardone, Norodom Victor Pinarok—have filed 19 counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act 3019, Section 3 (e) against the “vindictive” acting governor.
The employees claim Picardal issued individual Detail Orders reassigning them indefinitely to stations far from their homes and original place of work, about four days before the Commission on Elections’ ban on transfer of government employees took effect on Jan. 14, 2019.
With most of them in the rank-and-file with minimal salaries, complainants allege that their transfers to hospitals some 40 to 190 kilometers away from their respective homes and original work stations, caused them not only geographic dislocation but also financial dislocation ranging from P25,000 to P130,000 aggregate daily fares alone for about one year.
The employees allege the government has been prejudiced by such transfers as the quality of public service has actually worsened, not improved, by Picardal’s detail orders.
One of the complainants, Dr. Obon, was the Chief of Hospital of Oras District Hospital when she was transferred to Felipe Abrigo Memorial Hospital (FAMH) in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, some 186 kilometers away.
However, as of today, FAMH reportedly has an incumbent Chief of Hospital other than Dr. Obon, while Oras Hospital has had no full-fledged Chief of Hospital since Dr. Obon left.
Furthermore, despite the lack of nurses in Oras District Hospital, one nurse, Ofelia Norombaba, was moved to Albino Duran hospital in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, 180 kilometers from Oras hospital, depriving it of necessary nursing staff.
Also Helen Cadalin and Cirilo Quinsayas, both originally assigned at the Provincial Capitol, were transferred to hospital to perform functions lesser and incompatible with their job descriptions as Provincial Development staff and Legal Assistant, respectively.
All other complainants allege that they were made to perform tasks lesser and incompatible with their original work assignment.
Twelve of the 19 complaints are health workers under the Magna Carta for Health Workers (Republic Act No. 7305), while the others are originally assigned to various offices in the Provincial Capitol in Borongan City.
To show manifest partiality, the employees allege that their transfers were politically motivated, having been singled out in the transfer for being suspected supporters of Evardone.
And to show evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence, complainants allege that Picardal, without checking the physical state and well-being of the transferred employees, he reassigned Arriane Faye Cabel, a laundry woman of FAMH who is still recovering from a Caesarian operation, to a smaller hospital some 120 kilometers away.
Picardal also reassigned a senior citizen, Ana Ballete, to a distant location.
Section 9 of RA 3019 punishes a public official committing any of the unlawful acts within the ambit Sections 3 (e) with imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years, including perpetual disqualification from public office.
Also, three provincial employees in Eastern Samar have filed administrative charges against Picardal, over their alleged illegal transfer or reassignment to other hospitals in the province.
Ma Carrol Alvarez, Glenda Cabaguing and Richard Ballete, all assigned to Oras District Hospital in Oras town, filed a complaint against Picardal for grave misconduct and grave abuse of of authority under the Local Government Code, Administrative and Civil Service laws.
Picardal allegedly transferred from Oras Alvarez and Cabaguing to Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital in Borongan City, which is 86 kilometers away, while Ballete was reassigned to Quinapondan Community Hospital, about 170 kilometers away.
The complainants allege that their transfer “due to demand and exigency of public service” is baseless and unfounded as they were made to perform tasks foreign to their original job descriptions, including menial jobs, at their new stations.
“If there was actual demand for us to be reassigned, then why is it that we are not performing duties and functions that are necessary and essential to the services being offered by these hospitals?” the complainants asked the Ombudsman.
The complainants said they were singled out in the transfer as a form or political harassment and oppression for, just like the other 19 employees, allegedly being Evardone’s supporters.
We only pray the cases filed by these employees be immediately acted upon and resolved the soonest possible time. Their sufferings are only being prolonged each day they have to travel hundreds of kilometers daily just to report for work. Picardal has to be made accountable for all these.
