Reply to the Answer

8/12/2019 Reply to the Answer

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THE SAGGUNIANG PANGLUNGSOD OF BATAC CITYBATAC CITY, ILOCOS NORTEPHILIPPINES

Sirs/ Madams ,I, Clifford John F. Sapaden, of legal age and resident of Barangay San Julian, Batac City, Ilocos

Norte, am filing a complaint against Barangay Captain of San Julian, Rochell Ann TomasLagmay, Barangay Secretary Rheuna Sagun and Barangay Treasurer Erlindo Sagsagat, in thecase of the Barangay Captain for instructing the Barangay Secretary not to receive the paymentof my filing fee for my failure to file personally my complaint against Christopher Lagmay(Defendant) the Husband of the Barangay Captain. Against Barangay Secretary Rheuna Sagunfor the failure to notify me how much the filing fee is despite the inquiry letter that I sent to hervia registered mail and against Barangay Treasurer Erlindo Sagsagat for not accepting the

payment of my filing fee instead sending my mother to the Barangay Secretary to pay. The facts

of the case are as follows:1. On November 29, 2013 at or around 9:00 AM in the morning, I met Barangay CaptainChistopher Lagmay at the Police Station of Batac City. As per his complaint, I apparentlywrote/ said something on Facebook that pissed him off and embarrassed him. While we were atthe police station, I told Mr. Lagmay to open his Facebook in front of the police officer to showthem if I really wrote those words that he is accusing me of writing. However, Mr, Lagmay didnot open the Facebook since he was falsely accusing me of something that I didnt do.

Since there was no case to talk about I left the Police Station and went directly to the CulturalCenter to Practice the Students of Crispina Marcos Valdez National High School for their

Christmas presentation.At about 10:00 or 10:30 AM on November 29, 2013 Mr. Cristopher Lagmay suddenly appear atthe Cultural Center. He collared me and pushed me into a wall and there he assaulted (kicked and

punched) and threatened me.

2. On December 14, 2013 Mr. Christopher Lagmay the former Barangay Captain of BarangaySan Julian and the Husband of the Barangay Captain had almost ran me over within the vicinityof our Barangay on my way to the Cultural Center while driving my motorbike while he wasdriving his car. This incident could best be seen if the Barangay Captain would produce a copy

of the tape since the area where the Husband of the Barangay Captain almost ran me over iswhere one of the CCTV camera is located in our barangay.

3. On December 26, 2013 I send a Complaint letter to the Barangay Captain of San Julian and tothe Lupon members via registered mail. Attached hereto is evidence (A) copy of the Complaintthat was sent to the Barangay Captain and a copy of the letter sent to the Lupon Tagapamayapaas evidence (A-1)


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4. On December 26, 2013 I also sent an Inquiry Letter to the Barangay Secretary of San Julianvia registered mail inquiring how much the filing fee was for filing a complaint. However, Inever receive any answer from the Barangay Secretary. Attached hereto is evidence (B) copy of

the Letter of Inquiry to the Barangay Secretary.

5. On January 12, 2014 I sent my mother Buenaflor F. Sapaden to the treasurer to inquire howmuch the filing fee was and whether I could pay the filing fee to the treasurer, since until that Ihad not receive any respond from the Secretary. The Barangay Treasurer told my mother that thefiling fee is P200.00 (Two Hundred Pesos) and that payment should be made to the BarangaySecretary since he could not issue an official receipt. My mother went to the BarangaySecretary s house right away to inquire again if I could pay the filing fee to her. However shetold my mother that she could not accept payment of the filing fee as per instructions of theBarangay Captain since I, the complainant, should appear personally to file my complaint to theBarangay Captain, and that the barangay officials have to conduct a meeting before they wouldaccept my filing fee. Attached hereto is evidence (C) an affidavit of my mother relating/ tellingabout these incidents.

6. On January 14, 2014 I filed a complaint to the (DILG) Department of Interior and LocalGovernment. Attached hereto is evidence (D) copy of the complaint that I sent to the DILG.

7. On February 7, 2014 I was furnished the answer of Barangay Captain Rochelle Lagmaythrough the DILG. Attached hereto as evidence (E) copy of the answer of Barangay CaptainRochelle Lagmay.

8. The third sentence of the first (1st ) paragraph of the Barangay Captains answer she said that Iwas incorrect to say that she instructed anyone of non-acceptance of filing fees. This is anunacceptable lie since my mother was the one who personally went to the house of the treasurerand inquired as to how much the filing fee was, and that is where we found that it cost P200.00.However, the Treasurer told my mother that I need to pay my filing fee to the Secretary. Theaffidavit of my mother (Evidence C) is the best evidence to prove that the Barangay Captain was

lying just to defend and cover up her unlawful instructions and completely putting blame to theBarangay Treasurer and Barangay Secretary. With this denial of the Barangay Captain, she istrying to tell/say then that the Barangay Treasurer and Barangay Secretary are Liars.

9. The first sentence of the second paragraph says that, It has been established procedure thatthere must be personal appearance of complainants to the Lupon Chairman for the latter to


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acquaint himself of the nature of the concerns, to receive the complaint and for the required payment of the filing fees.

Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the 1991 Local Government Code particularly

SECTION 410. Procedure for Amicable Settlement . - (a) Who may initiate proceeding -Upon payment of the appropriate filing fee, any individual who has a cause of actionagainst another individual involving any matter within the authority of the lupon maycomplain, orally or in writing, to the lupon chairman of the Barangay

- As I understand the law upon my payment of the filing fee I, the Complainant, could filemy complaint either orally or in writing. The claim of the Barangay Captain that I couldfile my complaint only by personal appearance to the Barangay Captain is contrary of theabove stated law. The Law allows the filing of Complaint to the Lupon Chairman of theBarangay either orally or in writing. The Barangay Captain should know her facts and theRule of Law. But again how could I personally appear to file my complaint to the LuponChairman when I had not paid yet the filing fee by reason of refusal to accept by theBarangay Treasurer.

As to her claim regarding personal payment of the filing fee to the Lupon Chairman is incontradiction with SECTION 395 of the Local Government Code which providesthat:

Barangay Treasurer: Appointment, Qualifications, Powers and Duties.

(a) (b) (c) (d)

(e) The Barangay treasurer shall:(a) Keep custody of Barangay funds and properties;(b) Collect and issue official receipts for taxes, fees, contributions,

monies, materials, and all other resources accruing to the Barangaytreasury and deposit the same in the account of the Barangay asprovided under Title Five, Book II of this Code;

- Filing fees should be paid to the Treasurer of the Barangay and not to the Lupon

Chairman as the law provides. The treasurer collects and issues receipts for fees, toInclude Filing Fees . The contention of the Barangay Captain Rochell Ann Lagmay that Ishould have personally paid the filing fee to her is absolutely a complete ignorance andviolation of the Law especially the Local Government Code. Her attempt to twist the lawfor the benefit of the husband, who is the defendant in this case, is a flagrant violation ofthe above stated law and my right to pay the filing fee. There is no law that allows theBarangay Chairman as Lupon Chairman to perform the duty of a Barangay Captain andat the same time perform the duty of Barangay Treasurer.


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- The Truth of the matter is that On January 26, 2014 Kagawad Ferdinand Dela Cruz, if I

remember it right, came over to our house telling my mother that I could go and pay nowmy filing fee to the Barangay Secretary per her order. Since a complaint has been filed tothe DILG, I did not go. After 2 or 3 days Kagawad Edwin Cabanatan came over to the

house also telling my Auntie Claring Ronquillo that I can go ahead and pay the requiredfiling fee to the Barangay Secretary. Again I did not adhere to their direction. These barangay officials, who acted like emissaries of the Barangay Captain who tries toconvince me to pay my filing fee, have no idea that I know that there is an evil motive

behind that approval. They are trying to be sneaky. However, I knew already that if Iwould fall to their trap I will not be able to file my case in court by reason of prescriptive

period in case there is no conciliation/mediation that will take place. The law provides Incase of Light offense, the revised Penal Code provides :

ART. 90. Prescri ption of cr imes.

x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x

x x x x x x x x x

Light offense prescribe in two months

- have only 2 months within which to file my complaint failure toIn line with this Article Ido so within the 60 day period would forfeit my right to file my complaint to the court. Ifthe Secretary had talked to me personally, and they would accept the payment of myfiling fee and that the receipt would be dated January 12, 2014 the date when I wassupposed to pay my filing I could have paid the filing fee. The delaying tacticsof theBarangay Captain does not work with me. To eliminate suspicion on the part of theBarangay Captain she should even step aside in the conciliation of this case to fullyobtain impartial judgment. She can do it if she has no intention to cover up the unlawfuland illegal acts of the Husband. They made me think that the Barangay Captain,Treasurer and Secretary are in cahoots to delay the payment of my filing so that I will not

be able to file my complaint to the Lupon.

The Barangay Captains answer on second paragraph on the fourth and last sentences reads thatIf the Complainant himself cannot even appear before me as the Lupon Chairman in filing hiscomplaint, then it would defeat my discretion to come up with steps geared toward mediation

proceedings or for me to require the complaint be made under oath before me consistent withSection 420 of the Local Government Code. This is the rationale why the complaint should be


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filed personally to the Lupon Chairman in conjunction with said Section 420, especially so thatthe complaint was not notarized in the first place.

- The Barangay Captain has to be reminded again that before I could appear before her totake under oath as a pre-requisite of filing a complaint, I have do the first step which isthe payment of filing fee to the Barangay Treasurer and not to the Barangay Captain asLupon Chairman nor the Barangay Secretary. Those Barangay officials involved areclearly denying my rights to file a filing fee and be heard of my case. Again, payment ofthe filing fee is to be paid to the Treasurer, who holds the official receipt, and not to theSecretary nor the Barangay Captain being the Lupon Chairman as what she is contending.

As to the Power to administer oaths. The Local Government Code provides that:

Section 420. Power to Administer Oaths. - The Punong Barangay, as chairman ofthe Lupong Tagapamayapa, and the Members of the Pangkat are herebyauthorized to administer oaths in connection with any matter relating to allproceedings in the implementation of the katarungang pamBarangay

- The claim of the Barangay Captain that she is the sole person who can only administeroaths is a clear ignorance of the law. The Barangay officials of San Julian, Batac Cityespecially the Barangay Captain needs to undergo a seminar to the DILG to fullyunderstand the Rules and Procedure of the Katarungan Pambarangay and at the sametime to fully understand their duties and Responsibilities as Barangay officials. TheBarangay Captain is blatantly misinterpreting and attempting to omit the law for tellingus that she is the only one who can administer oath. Reading on the context of Section420 of the Local government Code it says that the Members of the Pangkat are alsoauthorized to administer oaths . Which means that any member of the Lupon couldhave administered my oaths in connection with my complaint if they accepted my filingfee.

- The claim of the Barangay Captain that my complaint was not notarized is again an out ofline reasoning. There is no law stating that a complaint should be notarized as a

precondition to the filing of a written complaint to the Barangay captain or LuponChairman.

9. As to the last paragraph of the the Barangay Captain s answer I quote Inasmuch as it was asmall barangay and in fact, we can be considered that our respective residences are of theproximate vicinity, it is hard to fathom why Mr. Sapaden cannot even come personally andfile his complaint in compliance with the rules.


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- Yes, it is true that our barangay is so small that it was so easy for the Barangay CaptainsHusband to harass my family including my brother. The Ex- Barangay Captain who is thedefendant to my supposed case and husband of Barangay Captain Rochelle Lagmay, now

a member of the Barangay Tanod of San Julian should guard the barangay peacefullyand catch the robbers instead of harassing my brother.

- This Barangay Captain is making injustice and unfair treatment to my family since wewere the only family that is not afraid to tell our political views and tell the truth. We donot sugar coat unlike some of our barangay mates who are blind followers and butt kisser.If they have onion skin then they should not be in politics. When you are a politician, youare prone to political scrutiny, since you are a public figure. If you do not want people toscrutinize you, do the right job or better resign or leave the system. Work for the peopleand not work only for money. Remember you are here to serve all your barangay mateswhether they voted for you or not. Politicians are here to serve their people. Rememberthe people were the ones who put you in that position, I may not have voted you on the

past election but being a resident in same barangay you have to treat me and my familyfairly and equally same treatment that you are giving to the people that voted you.

We are not asking you to respect us but at least be cordial enough to notify us that we needto go to the provincial office since the Governor is going to distribute the Land Titles.

- We have another Issue with the Barangay Captain. We found out that the Governor was

to distribute the titles of land at the Provincial Capital, and as far as we were informed aletter had been sent out to the Mayor to be given to the Barangay officials. AntonioSapadens name was included in the letter that has a title . However, the Barangay Captainof San Julian did not notify my family about this letter that we could get it to the capitol.We found out that Antonio Sapadens name was included thr ough Miss Gina Franco.Miss Franco read it on the letter furnished by the Honorable Mayor of Batac City toBarangay Captain of Ablan Honorable Thirdee Nalupta while she was in their home. Itwas a kind gesture of the Barangay Captain of Ablan to let Miss Gina Franco read theletter. Miss Franco found out that one of her barangay mates was included in that letter.Miss Franco told my grandmother about this. My grandmother went to our Barangay Hallto inquire about this. Finally we already have a barangay officials that was on duty;hurray for that, after so many years. Kagawad Oscar Lutap was the duty official, so mygrandmother asked about the said letter and if Antonio Sapadens name wa s included toreceive land title. However, he said he did not know anything about this. He then told mygrandmother to go to the house of the Barangay Captain and ask about it. Mygrandmother did not go to their house since she knew that a Barangay official, especiallyBarangay Captain should most of the time be at the Barangay Hall doing or attending toher duties. Unfortunately, she never notified any member of my family. To quote her


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answer on last paragraph to which she said. Inasmuch as it was a small barangay andin fact, we can be considered that our respective residences are of the proximatevicinity, it is hard to fathom why Mr. Sapaden cannot

- Before Barangay Captain Rochelle Ann Lagmay say something she should look at herselffirst. She should practice what she preaches because such answer bounced back to her.

- And I would quote too Inasmuch as it was a small barangay and in fact, we can beconsidered that our respective residences are of the proximate vicinity, it is hard tofathom why Barangay Captain Rochell Ann Lagmay cannot even come personallyto tell about the letter that she receive from the Honorable Mayor of Batac Cityregarding the Distribution of Land Titles at the Capitol.

With my utmost respect to the City officials of Batac, Ilocos Norte I hereby ask to rule that I will be allowed to pay the filing fee to the Treasurer on the date that I was supposed to pay not laterthan January 12, 2014 the date when I was supposed to pay my filing fee to the BarangayTreasurer so that I could file now my complaint.

Furthermore, I am sincerely asking the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Batac City to give properSeminar or Training to the Barangay Officials of San Julian, Batac City regarding the LocalGovernment Code especially the Katarungan Pambarangay Law for their further enlightenmentin the application of Laws and proper disposition of their duties and responsibilities as BarangayOfficials.

Finally, with the unlawful acts that they committed I am requesting the Sagguniang Panglungsodto give proper disciplinary action to the officials involve in my complaint for flagrant violationthe Local Government Code while feeding their egos, caprices and avenge their secret ill feelingstowards my family.

CLIFFORD JOHN F. SAPADENCOMPLAINANT


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VERIFICATION

I, Clifford John F. Sapaden , being duly sworn, deposes and says:

That I am the complainant in the above-entitled complaint. I have read the foregoing Complaintand know the contents thereof are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information and

belief..

Clifford F. John Sapaden

Complainant

Sworn to before me this _______th day of February 2014

Notary Public

S U BS CRI BE D A N D S W O RN t o b e f o r e m e t h i s _ _ d a y o f _ _ _ _ _ _ _ a t ______________. I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have personallyexamined the herein complainant and I am satisfied that he voluntarily executed and

und ers too d the given complaint.


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