BIATF: PLO to probe into Mayor Ibarra’s alleged protocol violation 

The Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF) is letting the Provincial Legal Office (PLO) determine whether or not Clarin Mayor Eugeniano Ibarra violated the quarantine protocol for allegedly conducting a face-to-face meeting with the local finance committee (LFC) even if the mayor was under quarantine.

Provincial Administrator and BIATF Administrator Kathyrin Pioquinto confirmed on Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, the receipt of a copy of the resolution passed by the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Clarin asking the BIATF to conduct an in-depth investigation on the allegations charged against Mayor Ibarra.

“Early this [Friday] afternoon, I received a copy of a resolution handed to me by one of my staff, entitled: Resolution, Earnestly Requesting the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force to Conduct an In-Depth Investigation of Mayor Eugeniano Ibarra for Violation of Executive Order 54 and Executive Order 97,” Pioquinto said during the regular virtual press conference of Gov. Arthur Yap.

She also said that the resolution was dated Jan. 12, 2021 and was received by her office only last Friday.

The provincial administrator bared that as for the BIATF’s action, the matter will be referred first to the Provincial Legal Office (PLO) to determine whether or not there was indeed a violation of the cited executive orders (EO).

Initially, on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, The Bohol Tribune reached out to emergency response cluster head of the BIATF, Dr. Anthony Damalerio to ask whether or not the task force is aware about the allegations against Ibarra.

Damalerio, who showed a strong stance against the alleged protocol violation of Panglao mayor Leonila Montero, texted The Bohol Tribune saying that he cannot speak about Ibarra’s alleged violation and that the medical cluster headed by Dr. Tomas Cesar Lopez is in the best position to talk about the allegations against the Clarin mayor.

When asked by The Bohol Tribune why he is letting Dr. Tomas Cesar Lopez talk about the Clarin Mayor situation on his behalf, when he (Damalerio) was firm, then, about his action and statements against the alleged violation of Panglao Mayor Nila Montero, Damalerio did not answer The Bohol Tribune question.  

The Bohol Tribune also tried to reach Lopez via telephone on Tuesday, but his mobile phone could not be reached.

RELATED DEVELOPMENT

In a related development, The Bohol Tribune called Damalerio yesterday afternoon, Jan. 16, 2021, to ask for an update on the possible violations of Alburquerque mayor Don Ritchie Buates but our call was unreturned as of press time.

Likewise, The Bohol Tribune sent a text message to Damalerio to get an update on the allegations against Buates, but there was no reply received as of press time.

It can be recalled that Damalerio insisted that the five (5) personnel of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) who arrived here with incomplete papers are authorized persons outside of residence (APOR) but Mayor Buates accepted the personnel in his town for quarantine as locally stranded individuals (LSI).

The PPA employees arrived in Bohol on Jan. 4, 2021, with incomplete papers. They lacked letters of acceptance from any local government unit issued prior to arrival.

The PPA employees only received letters of acceptance from Buates a few hours after arriving in Bohol from Cebu. 

In an interview with Damalerio last week re the Buates issue, Damalerio promised the radio listeners that he will not leave any stone unturned until such time that the truth will come out. But The Bohol Tribune has been calling Damalerio’s number until press deadline and all calls were left unanswered. 

BACKGROUND

The SB of Clarin passed on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2020, a resolution asking Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF) to probe the alleged protocol violation committed by Mayor Ibarra.

This was the revelation of Clarin Vice Mayor Allen Rey Piezas in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

Majority of the members of the SB approved the resolution, the Clarin vice mayor said. The resolution was passed during the regular session of the SB of Clarin.

The issues stems from the reports saying that Clarin mayor had a meeting, on Jan. 4, 2021, in his home even if he was under home quarantine to discuss the town’s budget that is yet to be approved by the SB.

The mayor was placed under home quarantine after he arrived from Davao on Dec. 31, 2020, reports say.

Moreover, Piezas said that the mayor violated Executive Order (EO) No. 54 series of 2020 of Gov. Arthur Yap, Ibarra’s EO No. 97 series of 2020 adopting Yap’s  EO No. 54. Ibarra allegedly violated the undertaking that the mayor signed. In the undertaking, Ibarra pledged that he will not accept visitors while under home quarantine.

In a separate phone interview with The Bohol Tribune on Tuesday, Mayor Ibarra admitted that he violated protocol when he conducted a face-to-face meeting with the local finance committee. Mayor Ibarra ended his quarantine on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021.

The mayor, who declined The Bohol Tribune’s request for a live radio interview, is apologetic and is open to face any investigation.

However, he wants the people of Clarin to understand that he conducted the meeting as part of his duty as mayor. He added, the virtual meeting option was not considered due to the poor quality of cellular signal around his home where he was placed under quarantine.