Rowegie Abanto

Article (news)

Ombudsman suspends Nueva Ecija gov over quarry permits; official says complaint 'politically motivated'

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio Umali over the alleged issuance of quarry permits without proper requirements and other documents from the environment department.</p><p>Based on the decision approved last June 19 but only made public over the weekend, Ombudsman Samuel Martires found substantial evidence that Umali is guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service and simple misconduct.</p><p>Because of this, the governor is suspended without pay for one year.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/1/13/new-mining-reporting-rules-take-effect-2010">New mining reporting rules take effect</a></div><p>Meanwhile, the Ombudsman dismissed the complaints against former governor Czarina Umali who is the present governor&#x27;s wife, former provincial environment and natural resources officer (PENRO) Wilfredo Pangilinan, and former Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Central Luzon officials Danilo Uykieng, Lope Cariño Jr., Samuel Paragas, and Alilo Ensomo, Jr.</p><p>The administrative charges against Czarina, Pangilinan, Uykieng, Cariño, Paragas, and Ensomo were dismissed because the Ombudsman said they were no longer a public officer or employee when the complaints were lodged.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHAT HAPPENED?</strong></div><p>The decision stemmed from the consolidated complaints filed by the Field Investigation Office and a certain Roberto Duldulao in April 2024.</p><p>The Ombudsman cited a House committee report for its probe into the matter released in 2018, which stated that the Umali spouses — during their respective terms as Nueva Ecija governor — granted 205 commercial sand and gravel permits to “unqualified permittees” without any proper documentation from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).</p><p>Based on the report, the Umalis supposedly granted the permits between 2014 and 2018, even without the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the DENR, based on the document.</p><p>It added that the Umali spouses only supposedly sought the submission of the Local Environmental Clearance Certificate (LECC) as a prerequisite to the permits, violating the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and Presidential Decree 1596, or the decree that establishes the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/7/2/philippines-biodiversity-hotspot-pushes-back-on-mining-1044">Philippines biodiversity hotspot pushes back on mining</a></div><p>“The act of issuing the CSGP without verifying whether the applicant has submitted all the requirements is tantamount to intentionally disregarding the protection afforded by our laws to our protected mining areas,” the complaint cited by the Ombudsman read.</p><p>“The power of the Provincial Governor to issue or grant a quarry, or sand and gravel permit is not absolute. It does not rest solely on the whims and caprices of the Provincial Governor,” it added.</p><p>According to the complaint, Pangilinan “conspired with spouses Umali by recommending the approval of quarry permits on the basis of the submitted LECCs sans any ECC.&quot;</p><p>Aside from this, there were supposedly records from DENR Central Luzon which showed that 35 quarry operators “have no records of submitted ECCs for the years 2014-2018.”</p><p>The provincial government was also allegedly remiss in its responsibility to remit the shares of taxes to its localities under the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997.</p><p>Based on the law, an excise tax of 4 percent should be imposed on the extracted quarry resources. This would be based on the “actual market value of the gross output of these products at the time of their removal.”</p><p>Uykieng, Cariño, Paragas and Ensonio – Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) chairpersons during the period – were tagged in the controversy after the Ombudsman’s field investigating officers said they failed to review and evaluate the quarry permit applications.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WHAT THE OMBUDSMAN SAID</strong></div><p>In its ruling, the Ombudsman said that Aurelio’s issuance of commercial sand and gravel permits from 2014 to 2016 “was neither motivated by a premeditated, obstinate, or intentional purpose, nor by financial or illegal consideration.”</p><p>Rather, his actions fall under the offenses of Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service and Simple Misconduct after he bypassed the PMRB by approving 36 applications in 2016, it said.</p><p>“He was remiss in his duty to ensure the enforcement and compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations within his jurisdiction,” the Ombudsman said.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Ombudsman debunked the allegations that the provincial government was remiss in its duty to remit the shares of taxes on sand, gravel, and other quarry resources to its local government units.</p><p>“There is no proof on the extent of the injury caused to the government or any party as a result of the issuance of the [commercial sand and gravel permits],” it said.</p><p>“In Abubakar v. People, the Supreme Court held that an accused is said to have caused undue injury to the government or any party when the latter sustains actual loss or damage which must exist as a fact and cannot be based on speculations or conjectures,” it added.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION </strong></div><p>In a statement, Governor Aurelio said their motion for reconsideration has already been filed and emphasized that the case “does not involve any criminal charge nor any issue of corruption, theft, or wrongdoing.”</p><p>“It is important to emphasize that the complaint against me was politically motivated. The complainant is a well-known ‘perennial complainant,’ who has long been involved in political cases and is currently serving as a security aide to one of my political rivals — an individual who has already publicly declared his intention to run for governor in 2028,” he said.</p><p>“This shows that the case is not about genuine public service concerns but rather about partisan interests aimed at discrediting me and derailing the programs of the provincial government that have been serving our people, particularly our farmers,” he added.</p><p>The governor said he would continue serving the public and would “not back down.”</p><p>“No political harassment, no baseless accusations, and no unjust rulings will stop us from pursuing our shared vision of a strong, progressive, and just Nueva Ecija,” he said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>OTHER NEWS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s2YE93KFa8w?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio Umali over the alleged issuance of quarry permits without proper requirements and other documents from the environment department.</p>

The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Nueva Ecija Governor Aurelio Umali over the alleged issuance of quarry permits without proper requirements and other documents from the environment department.

Nueva Ecija gov suspended over alleged issuance of quarry permits without proper requirements

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Regions

Nueva Ecija gov suspended over alleged issuance of quarry permits without proper requirements

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 18, 2025 01:11 PM PHT

Read More:

ABSNews

ANC promo

Ombudsman

Nueva Ecija

Aurelio Umali

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.