THE OFFICE OF the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Jo Mark Libre, who used to teach as a part-time faculty member of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), for various offenses, including “nepotism” and “grave misconduct.“
In an announcement from CHED’s website dated January 17, the Commission said that they were “ordered by the Ombudsman” to implement its decision, finding the Commissioner “guilty of nepotism and grave misconduct” in OMB-C-A-APR-23-0049 entitled, “Field Investigation Office vs. Jo Mark M. Libre.”
Dr. Libre was appointed as CHED Commissioner by then-President Rodrigo Duterte on February 9, 2022. He obtained chairmanship in 24 different state universities and colleges (SUCs). At the same time, Dr. Libre was also a part-time faculty member of the CAS’ Department of Political Science and taught until the end of the first semester of academic year (A.Y.) 2023-2024.
Found guilty of “misconduct,” the Ombudsman prescribed Dr. Libre’s penalty as the following: “dismissal from service which will carry with it cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits except for accrued leave credits, and perpetual disqualification for re-employment in government service.”
Prior to the Ombudsman’s decision, the Civil Service Commission-Davao Region (CSC 11), back in 2019, found the former commissioner guilty of various malpractices during his tenure as a faculty member at a Davao SUC back in 2016. This also includes the offense of appointing relatives in his own office. After dismissing Dr. Libre’s appeal, the CSC has also upheld its 2019 decision finding him guilty of the aforementioned malpractice.
According to SunStar, Dr. Libre filed his first appeal back in March of 2020. CSC 11 then treated his appeal as a “petition for review” and while the case was ongoing, he was appointed as CHED Commissioner by Duterte, thus not being subject to penalties until the verdict was finalized.
As a result of the dismissal, CHED Chairman Dr. Prospero “Popoy” de Vera has issued a memorandum dividing the chairmanship of the 24 SUCs under Dr. Libre between him and three other commissioners.