THE Commission on Audit has cleared former Gumaca, Quezon mayor Erwin Caralian and three other municipal officials of liability over the fire that razed the Central Materials Recovery Facility on February 20, 2016 and destroyed part of the structure as well as various equipment inside.
In its decision, the COA Commission Proper granted the petition for review filed by the former mayor together with Municipal Engineer’s Office officer-in-charge Emmanuel Alpuerto, former municipal engineer Jose Vidal, and municipal environment and natural resources officer Geminina Fernando on the denial of their request for relief from property accountability.
The 2018 decision of the COA Region 4 denied the LGU officials’ petition on the ground that the damaged property was not covered by insurance, the notice of loss through fire was filed only after 11 days, while the request for relief was submitted after 83 days from the date of the fire.
It added that the correct value of the damaged municipal properties totaled P3,851,594.02 rather than P3,898,929.15.
In reviewing the Gumaca municipal official’s appeal the COA CP noted that the delay in filing was justified since the Final Investigation Report from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), an essential document, was only issued on May 18, 2017.
The Commission underscored that the liability of accountable officers for loss or damage of government priority must be attended by fault or negligence.
“In this case, the BFP ruled that the fire was accidental in nature. Thus, in the absence of evidence showing that there was fault or negligence on the part of the petitioners, this Commission finds the request for relief in order,” it pointed out.
Regardless of the grant of relief from accountability, the COA clarified that the responsible municipal officials may still face administrative liability for failure to ensure that the properties’ fire insurance premiums were up to date.
