MANILA— The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Santa Maria, Laguna Municipal Treasurer Ma. Theresa Lagonoy Lontok for one month and one day without pay after finding her administratively liable for simple neglect of duty over lapses in securing ballot boxes from the 2022 elections.

In a 17-page decision, the Ombudsman ruled that Lontok failed to exercise due diligence in preserving the integrity and security of unopened ballot boxes under her custody, as required by Section 219(b) of the Omnibus Election Code.

The administrative complaint was filed on March 4, 2025, by 4th District Representative Maria Jamina Katherine Baltazar Agarao, who accused Lontok and Santa Maria Mayor Ma. Rocelle Valdecantos Carolino of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and serious dishonesty.

Agarao alleged that the two officials conspired to tamper with ballots following the 2022 elections in connection with an election protest filed before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) by Carolino’s husband, then-congressional candidate Antonio M. Carolino.

HRET inspection records showed that several ballot boxes retrieved from Santa Maria lacked proper plastic and metal security seals or were secured only with packaging tape.

While decrypted ballot images later confirmed Agarao’s election victory, the physical ballots from 16 clustered precincts were deemed to have doubtful integrity because of compromised seals and other physical anomalies.

The Ombudsman, however, found no evidence that Lontok intentionally tampered with the ballots or acted with corruption or bad faith.

Nevertheless, her admissions established that unauthorized individuals had a reasonable opportunity to access the storage area, indicating that she had failed to adequately discharge her statutory duty to safeguard the ballot boxes.

The anti-graft body imposed the minimum penalty for simple neglect of duty, considering as mitigating circumstances Lontok’s 30 years of unblemished public service, previous awards, and lack of prior administrative offenses.

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman dismissed all administrative charges against Carolino for lack of sufficient evidence, ruling that the mayor had no statutory or legal responsibility for the safekeeping and custody of election materials.

“Albeit the ballot boxes were placed inside the Municipal Hall of Santa Maria where she was the Mayor and the protestant is her husband, there was no evidence showing that she committed any acts in connection with the subject ballot boxes or circumstances showing that she conspired with Lontok save for the bare assumptions of complainant,” the ruling read.

The Ombudsman stressed that conspiracy cannot be established through assumptions or conjecture alone, noting that Agarao failed to present substantial evidence of Carolino’s active participation in or interference with the handling of the ballot boxes.