Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante of Dalaguete, along with Vice Mayor William Lagahit and Municipal Councilor Kevin Belandres, has been placed under a six-month preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman.

The suspension also extends to nine other municipal officials, including Municipal Engineer Expedezitas Lenares and Zoning Officer II Essandre Amprad.

The decision is based on motions for preventive suspension filed on April 23, 2025, by complainants Jose Rene Moran and Braulio Moran, who raised concerns that the officials might tamper with evidence or influence town hall employees during ongoing investigations into serious allegations of abuse of authority and misconduct.

The case against Cesante and his colleagues arose from the unauthorized construction of a disputed warehouse in 2023. This structure, built on a 4,000-square-meter lot owned by the heirs of the late Maria Zambrano, was alleged to be overpriced, with estimates suggesting that while the actual cost was around P3 million, it swelled to P8 million.

The construction was executed without the consent of the landowners, and no deed of conveyance had been established in favor of the municipality.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires approved the preventive suspension order, citing sufficient grounds to support the complainants’ motions, which he signed on June 2, indicating that the order would take effect immediately.

Upon filing their complaint, the Morans emphasized that their actions were not politically motivated, countering accusations from Cesante that the complaint was timed to coincide with the election period.

Prior to the May 12 midterm elections, multiple complaints had been lodged against Cesante and several officials related to alleged violations of anti-corruption laws by various complainants, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7.

Among the allegations against the officials is an irregular road repair and concreting project, executed for P9.65 million along ML Quezon Street in Barangay Poblacion.

This project has drawn scrutiny due to payments made to a private contractor, despite the municipality conducting the work itself.

In a separate complaint by the NBI 7 filed on October 11, 2024, additional allegations included allowing the use of government equipment and personnel for a private contractor, which reportedly resulted in a fatal incident.

Furthermore, a group of over 1,800 senior citizens from Dalaguete lodged a complaint against Cesante on November 28, 2024, alleging exclusion from a cash assistance program earlier that year.

Following the suspension, Cesante sought reelection but was unsuccessful.

Vice Mayor Lagahit managed to secure his position, however.

In prior instances, Cesante has faced disciplinary actions from the Ombudsman, including a nine-month suspension in November 2015 for financial conflicts of interest, as well as subsequent suspension in 2017 for misconduct relating to the sinking of a fishing vessel during a typhoon.