MANILA — Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Sunday maintained that Abra Governor Dominic Valera and his daughter Vice Governor Maria Jocelyn Valera-Bernos should remain suspended amid investigations over their alleged illegal appointment in their province.

Bersamin’s statement comes after talk that the Valera’s appealed to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. regarding their suspension earlier this year after they appointed an ally to the vacated seat of Bucay town councilor Juan Palcon, who died due to an illness in 2023. 

“The Valeras should accept that there is a process ongoing, and they have been suspended in accordance with pre-existing (not whimsical) rules,” Bersamin said in a statement, noting that he was unaware if the political family indeed sent an appeal to the chief executive. 

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“They have been unchecked for a long time because of their money and illegal use of influence,” he said. 

“It is time for the Valeras to man up.” 

Earlier this year, Valera-Bernos was suspended for 18 months after she was found guilty of oppression and abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming of a public official and disobedience to government policies after she ordered a lockdown on the Dr. Petronillo Seares Memorial Hospital in Bangued in 2020. 

“The vice governor is suffering suspension as the result of a final decision,” Bersamin said. 

“On the other hand, the governor has been subjected to a preventive suspension allowed under the law to stop him from influencing witnesses during his investigation,” he said. 

The father and daughter are also facing a complaint over their alleged illegal appointment of an ally to fill in the vacated post of Bucay town councilor Juan Palcon, who died due to an illness in 2023. 

“Now is the time for justice to be meted in favor of the people they have aggrieved for a long time,” Bersamin said. 

“Accountability is at last staring them in the face.”