Ombudsman files charges vs ex-Philpost chief

Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City. (Photo courtesy of DGR Law Offices.)

MANILA—The Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) has found probable cause to charge former Philippine Postal Corporation (PPC) Postmaster General Josefina Dela Cruz for 15 counts of violation of Republic Act No. 8291, or the “Government Service Insurance System Act of 1997”.

Also ordered indicted are Bernardito Gonzales and Arlene Bendanillo of PPC Zamboanga City.

Complainant Santos Pamatong, Jr., a PPC employee, alleged that the respondents failed to remit his loan amortizations to the GSIS for the period October 2011 to December 2012.

As defense, Dela Cruz claimed that “due to insufficiency of funds, the PPC prioritized the net take home pay of employees and operating costs, over the remittance to the GSIS of premiums and loan amortizations.”

In its resolution released on Monday, the Ombudsman ruled that “Dela Cruz has not presented any evidence that would support her allegation that the PPC lacked the funds to be able to remit to the GSIS complainant’s loan amortizations.”