Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod Secretary Nilo Alejandrino, 58, passed away Saturday at the Bacolod Adventist Medical Center in Bacolod City reportedly after suffering a stroke.

Alejandrino had reportedly been confined at the intensive care unit for six days before he died. One of his staff said he died from complications.

Alejandrino was meted the penalty of dismissal from service, cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from reemployment in the government service by the Office of the Vice Mayor for the administrative case filed against him by Distrito.

The Regional Trial Court had issued a resolution recalling and lifting the temporary restraining order it had earlier granted Alejandrino, and denied his prayer for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction.

Alejandrino had sought a writ of preliminary injunction early this year to restrain or prohibit Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson and the investigating committee from proceeding with Administrative cases 011-002 and 011-003 against him.

He had worked for the city government for 24 years after being employed as Legal Counsel of the Securities and Exchange Commission in Iloilo City. He was founder of the League of Secretaries of Negros Occidental and was former president of the Secretaries League of the Philippines.

Ernesto Tuclaod, his legal counsel, claimed he saw the rapid deterioration of the health of Alejandrinodue due to depression after he was suspended and finally dismissed from the service with the forfeiture of all his benefits.

He said that the death of Alejandrino does not mean the death of his case with the City Government especially with the Office of Vice Mayor as they will pursue their appeal before the Civil Service Commission.

Tuclaod said they will ask the CSC to declare null and void the administrative cases filed against Alejandrino on the ground that the Office of the Disciplining Authority/ Office of the Vice Mayor has no jurisdiction to hear the case and there is an alleged abuse of authority on the part of the vice mayor.

Asked for his reaction,  Distrito said “My prayers are with Alejandrino’s family as I know it is such a sad and unexpected incident.”

 Distrito said his conflict with Alejandrino was purely due to the call of duty and circumstances warrant at that time that it was for the best of interest of his office to take such legal action, and that what he did was, in fact, a peaceful way of finding a resolution to the conflict.

“Our legal battle was, in fact, natural for us both lawyers, as this is our way of life of resolving issues. I know that words cannot console the grief that they are experiencing right now but I will still say that I regret that I was not able to settle our conflict before he passed away. May he find eternal repose in God’s resting peace,” he said.

 Sayson said, “I condole with the bereaved family of Alejandrino. To my political detractors, let us not use this to advance their political gains,” he said after receiving feedback that he being blamed for what happened.*CGS

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