By CESAR JOLITO III
A funeral parlor operator in Negros Occidental’s Moises Padilla town has accused the local government unit of unjustly delaying and eventually denying the establishment’s business permit renewal, which led to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas ruling the mayor and two others guilty of administrative offenses.
In a decision released to concerned parties, the Ombudsman found Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo, Business Permit and Licensing Office officer-in-charge Warren Jocson, and Civil Registrar and Municipal Administrator-designate Archie Montelibano guilty of grave abuse of authority and neglect of duty over their handling of a local business permit application.
All three were penalized with a fine equivalent to six months of their salaries.
The Ombudsman ruled on the complaint filed by Ramona Nalagon-Villaflor, claiming the local government eventually denied her business permit renewal application for her funeral parlor she operates in the town in 2023.
Villaflor said she submitted her renewal application in January 2023 and completed all necessary requirements.
However, she claimed that the local government unit failed to act on it.
She sent a formal letter of inquiry to Yulo on June 14, 2023, the Ombudsman said.
Twelve days later, she received a formal notice of denial signed by Jocson, citing a conflict with another funeral home operating at the same address.
Villaflor said the other establishment is run by her own sibling and that the matter had already been amicably settled at the barangay level.
She also emphasized that in previous years — 2021 and 2022 — she had successfully renewed her permit without issue, particularly when her sibling was allied with Yulo.
In a statement, Yulo confirmed that she plans to file a motion for reconsideration, asserting that she could not comment further due to the legal nature of the case.
“This is one of the challenges we face in public service,” Yulo said.
“We cannot please everybody, and complaints are part of the process, but this will not weaken our commitment to serve the greater good,” she added./CJ, WDJ