THE House Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano, cited Bauan, Batangas Mayor Ryanh Dolor in contempt on Monday due to his continued absences from legislative hearings concerning alleged irregularities in his municipality.
Paduano said Dolor’s repeated absence from the committee hearings violated Section 11, Paragraph A on the House Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of Legislation, pertaining to refusal without legal excuse to obey summons. Dolor would be detained in the premises of the House until the termination of the committee’s hearing.
“In the case of Mayor Dolor, he was absent for the past several hearings. Wala po, hindi po dumating dito yung mayor. Si vice mayor po dumating once,” Paduano said. The Committee sent out three invitations, one show cause order, and one subpoena to Dolor.
He said the panel received a copy of the excuse letter of Dolor, with a travel authority signed by Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas, giving the mayor the authority to travel to the United States from March 11 to March 26, 2025 purportedly for medical reasons.
Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores noted that Dolor did not state in his excuse letter what medical treatment he is actually seeking. “Wala man lang medical records or anything like that to justify his absence,” he said.
Flores also took note that the extension of Dolor’s travel authority seemed deliberately timed with the conduct of the committee’s hearing. “We’ve already scheduled a hearing after the expiration of his travel authority. Medyo halata po na iniiwasan po tayo ni Mayor Dolor. I don’t know why because it has been the fourth meeting that he is absent. He’s just trying to avoid appearing in this committee,” he said.
Also cited in contempt were Aquadata President Joseph Yu and Vice President Jonathan Yu for violation of Section 11, Paragraph A of the House Rules on Inquiries, in Aid of Legislation. They will also be detained in the House premises until the termination of the committee’s hearings.
Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop said he noticed that the excuse of Dolor in being absent before the committee is his travel abroad, together with the two Aquadata executives. He then moved to request from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for the travel data of the three individuals, “To find out if nasa abroad sila or nag travel sila,” Acop said.
The panel in its past meetings scrutinized the privatization of the Bauan Waterworks System (BWS), after the Commission on Audit (COA) found multiple violations of existing laws, including the award of the contract to Aquadata Inc., despite failing to meet prequalification criteria for legal personality, technical experience, track record and financial capability.
The COA also noted revenue-sharing scheme between Aquadata and Bauan lacked legal and financial justification, and that the contract did not define, in clear and unequivocal terms, Aquadata’s obligations.
The COA also found that the Municipality of Bauan, after terminating its contract with Aquadata, still entered into a holdover agreement with the company still under the same terms, prolonging the town’s financial losses.
The inquiry is being conducted based on House Resolution 2148, authored by La Union Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega V, seeking an inquiry into the alleged misuse of public funds and properties and irregularities in the operations of the Office of the Mayor and Vice Mayor of the Municipality of Bauan, Batangas under Dolor.
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