Suspended Office of the Building Official officer-in-charge, Isidro Sun Jr., will be reporting back to work by July 2, Bacolod City Legal Officer Rayfrando Diaz II said yesterday.

This was manifested by the lawyer of the Office of the Ombudsman during a hearing in the Regional Trial Court, he said.

Diaz said Sun will be reinstated by virtue of the full service of his suspension of six months and one day.

Sun and building inspector Jose Maria Makilan were ordered suspended by the Ombudsman for six months and one day without pay late last year in the case filed against them by several engineers of the OBO.

Diaz said Mayor Monico Puentevella will still have to weigh who should be maintained as head of the OBO. “If he is happy with the services of Ephraim Hechanova, I think he will be retained. If not, we will see,” he said.

But first and foremost, Sun has to be reinstated from his suspension, Diaz said.

Puentevella said they will discuss this matter. Sun might be reinstated but the mayor is not sure if he will still be heading the OBO, he said.

Sun said he has not yet received any communication regarding his reinstatement. He is excited to return to work on July 2, which happens to be the birthday of the mayor, since he has not been receiving his salary.

He said Makilan will also be reinstated since both of them were meted the same sanction.

Since they had no salaries for six months, they had to find ways to provide for their families and, by God's grace, they were able to survive, Sun said.

Complaints for violation of the Revised Penal Code and Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and for administrative charges of grave misconduct and acts prejudicial to the interest of the City of Bacolod were filed against Sun, before the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas on October 30.

The complaint filed by Sharon Gayanelo, Cary Memoria, and Glenda Pajes, in charge of the OBO Architectural Section, Structural Section, and Plumbing and Sanitary Section, respectively, involved the application of Mainstream Business Inc. on June 25 with the OBO, for a business permit for the expansion of Building B of the North Wing of SM City-Bacolod.

Criminal charges were also filed against Sun and Makilan for violation of Parag. 2, of Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code, when they allegedly falsified a computation sheet for the building permit fees of Mainstream, “by causing it to appear that we participated in re-processing and re-computing the building permit fees when, in fact, we did not,” the complainants said.

They also claimed that, because of the respondents' erroneous and alleged falsified computation sheet, Bacolod City suffered injury amounting to P698,500.*CGS

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