Lawyer Margarita Cabello responds to CAS director: ‘A suspension is not the same as a sanction’

After the deputy attorney, Silvano Gómez, decided to remove the president of the Special Assets Society from his post, Jose Daniel Rojasand open an investigation against him and four other officials of the SAEfor the alleged breach of a contract with which they were forced to transfer 82.16% of the shares of Sociedad de Acueducto, Alcantarillado y Aseo de Barranquilla (Triple-A) at the town hall of the Atlantic capital; members of the government, starting with the president, challenged the measure, which they considered punitive.

In concrete terms, in a 26-page document, the Public Prosecutor’s Office stated: “Given the seriousness objectively revealed by the facts which are the subject of the investigation, in the terms provided for by law and in order to avoid continuing to incur the commission of possible disciplinary offenses and likely to violate the legal system and affect public property, the provisional suspension from the post of the president of the SAE, José Daniel Rojas Medellín, was ordered for a period of three (3 months “.

In the same text, an investigation is reported against Rojas and Sebastián Caballero Ortega, legal vice-president of the SAE; Jairo Alonso Bautista, Vice President of SAE Companies, and Dagoberto Quiroga Collazos, Superintendent of Residential Utilities.

Since then, we talk about inefficiency, political persecution and obstruction. Charges that caught the attention of lawyer Margarita Cabello, who defended Silvano Gómez and his decision: “The procedural guarantees are all there. This is a preventive precautionary measure, which does not entail any liability against the director of the SAE. It is preventive, in the face of certain actions that – I suppose – the determined vice-advocate had been carried out, which is why the preventive measure of dismissing him from office is justified,” reads an interview with Blu Radio.

The temporary suspension, he insists, is not a punitive measure, since -so far- have not been verified alleged contractual irregularities. This means that the people under investigation are not necessarily guilty of what they are charged with.

“The suspension measures taken by the public prosecutor are of a conservatory nature and are measures which do not involve an analysis of the responsibility of the person investigated and it cannot be said that there is prejudice. Precautionary measures have a lot to do with preventing any of the officials under investigation from happening again. This has nothing to do with the responsibility of the investigator”.

What the control entity is really seeking with the suspension of civil servants is to avoid possible interference in research:

“It is a question of temporarily dismissing him from his functions in order to be able to carry out the investigation. It’s not a punishment as the director meant of the SAE. The director is not sanctioned, it is just an investigation opening what the deputy prosecutor has done and therefore the measure is preventive. Coincidentally, to avoid any action that might be a repeat offender.

That’s why I’m calling the president, Gustavo Petroto remain calm, because it would be a measure adopted with any of the 900,000 civil servants monitored by the Attorney General’s office, who would also have all the procedural safeguards:

“I don’t understand the concern and manifestation of persecution from the Attorney General’s Office. There are certain elements in consultation and procedural safeguards will be guaranteed, as is the case in all disciplinary processes or actions.

And, by way of conclusion, I reveal that even before the complaints filed by the president of the SAE, José Daniel Rojas, they had already opened investigations for alleged acts of corruption within the Special Assets Society.

“The Attorney General’s office has been investigating and is having investigations, currently there is even an investigation based on what the director of the SAE has said in the media regarding possible acts of corruption. These investigations are carried out and not because he denounced them or because he made us participate. A disciplinary inspection has already been carried out at the offices of the CAS and we are waiting for them to inform us of the conclusions”