Admin raps up vs retired agriculture officer

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr. said administrative proceedings will continue against former provincial agriculturist and lawyer Japhet Masculino despite his retirement from government service.

Three cause orders were issued against Masculino, Nellas said.

Masculino retired from government service on June 30. He was replaced temporarily by Dina Gensola as acting head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculture

Gensoli’s appointment was announced by Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, pending the appointment of a permanent head.

Earlier, the PLO issued three show-cause orders against Masculino in connection with the unpaid catering services, grain dryers, and 23 uncompleted irrigation projects from 2014 to 2017.

Nellas said that Masculino already submitted his answers to the two show-cause orders.

But Masculino asked for an extension in the submission of his explanations to the third order issued to him on June 28.

Lacson had approved the optional retirement of Masculino, 62, who rendered 39 years of service to the government.

Masculino said that he will pay the P1 million unpaid catering services out of his retirement benefits.

But Nellas said “As far as we are concerned, payment of monetary debt does not settle an administrative liability.”

“We always work on the premise that public service is a public trust,” he added.

He said that they are now finalizing their findings on the unpaid catering services issue for submission to the governor.

Nellas refused to divulge their investigation results on the grain dryers issue.

He also said that Masculino can still process his retirement papers.

Nellas further said that the issuance of needed clearances will only stop if there is a formal charge against him for administrative cases.