TACLOBAN CITY – The Governor of Eastern Samar, Ben Evardone, has welcomed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss the charges of corruption and misconduct brought against him in 2018.

The governor’s office said it received the copy of the decision Thursday evening.

In a joint resolution dated September 3, 2021, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed claims of misconduct and violation of Section 3 of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Bribery and Corruption Act against Evardone for “lack of deserved”.

“The Ombudsman’s decision is a clear affirmation that I did not commit any wrongdoing or act in bad faith as alleged in the complaint which was clearly highly politically motivated,” Evardone said in a press release on Friday.

The complaints were filed on January 14, 2018 by Edilberto F. Grata Jr. who cited a notice of dismissal issued by the regional office of the Audit Commission.

The Complainant questioned the propriety of Evardone’s approval of a cash advance in the amount of PHP 5.37 million for the payment of village officials’ transport costs for their community watch system (CBMS) and the Orientation Seminar on Good Governance in Baguio City.

In his resolution, however, the Ombudsman said that Evardone was merely carrying out his duties when he approved the disbursement for seminar expenses.

The ombudsman ruled that the mere issuance of a notice of revocation does not automatically amount to manifest bias, manifest bad faith or gross and inexcusable negligence.

The case was dismissed on January 3, 2020 and approved by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on September 3, 2021. (NAP)