By CESAR JOLITO III

The former officer-in-charge of the Bacolod City Office of the Building Official (OBO), Engineer Isidro Sun, has been placed under preventive suspension for the second time as city authorities recommended both administrative and criminal charges over alleged irregularities in the processing of building permits.

City Legal Officer Atty. Karol Joseph Chiu said Sun is facing accusations of approving the alleged underdeclaration of a building’s floor area to reduce the amount of fees paid to the city for business and occupancy permits in 2024.

The case involves a commercial establishment in Barangay Cabug.

Based on the complaint, the building’s total floor area was allegedly reduced from more than 4,000 square meters to just over 2,000 square meters in official documents, resulting in significantly lower assessment and permit fees.

Chiu said Sun approved and signed the assessment, orders of payment and the certificate of final inspection despite the discrepancy.

As a result, Sun has been administratively charged with serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

He has been placed under a 60-day preventive suspension without pay.

The city government is also considering the filing of criminal charges for falsification of public documents against Sun and a retired OBO employee.

Chiu said the retired employee allegedly approved the computation sheet and the order of payment related to the questioned transaction.

Records further show that this was not Sun’s first suspension.

On August 11, 2025, he was placed under a 90-day preventive suspension over a separate complaint involving the alleged solicitation of P11,000 in exchange for facilitating the processing of an occupancy permit for a business in Barangay Mansilingan./CJ, WDJ