Henry Oaminal

Henry Sevilla Oaminal Sr. (born October 11, 1958) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and businessman serving as the governor of Misamis Occidental since 2022. He was the Representative of Misamis Occidental's 2nd district from 2013 to 2022 and was a House Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2022.

Political career

On July 10, 2020, Oaminal was one of the 70 representatives who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

Controversies

Lam-an housing project

In early 2020, at least 5 houses have been demolished in Barangay Lam-an, Ozamiz City to make way for a free housing project for informal settlers. Longtime homes and landowners complained about 'harassment' and believed that the eviction lacked legal basis. Families were allegedly threatened to leave and 'pack up' by their barangay captain, councilor, and Oaminal himself. Oaminal debunked this claim saying that their family was always 'observant of the rule of law'.

Rodante Marcoleta, party-list representative of SAGIP, called on to have Oaminal investigated by the Committee on Ethics and the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability for his alleged involvement in the illegal demolition for the Lam-an housing project. Marcoleta pointed out that the Neri family has a valid title to the property where their property stood. He pointed out that the construction of a housing project on private property is a violation of R.A. 7279 otherwise known as the 'Urban Development and Housing Act of 1992'.

House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco ordered hearings to stop, DIWA party list chairman Michael Aglipay confirmed. Oaminal was given 3 weeks to compensate the affected families.

DPWH corruption allegations

In 2020, Oaminal was included in the list of 9 lawmakers who were allegedly involved in corruption related to infrastructure projects. He said that the report from the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission is 'not a condemnation or indictment' and should 'not be taken as the gospel of truth'. He says he supports the anti-graft campaign of President Rodrigo Duterte.

House session attendance despite positive COVID-19 test

Oaminal attended the opening session of the House of Representatives on July 26, 2021, despite testing positive in a COVID-19 test taken on the day before President Rodrigo Duterte's sixth State of the Nation Address, breaking the isolation rules set by the Department of Health. Oaminal said he received his antigen in the evening before the SONA. He said he was immediately scheduled to get tested for COVID-19 in a lab. His sample was taken at 12:10 AM and he received his negative results at 5:15 AM before the SONA.

PNB case

In 2021, the Supreme Court granted the petition of Philippine National Bank, overturning the decision of the Court of Appeals on June 1, 2015. PNB's petition seeks to revive criminal charges against Oaminal for six bouncing checks worth P12,797,767.20 in 2002. The court has directed the second branch of the Municipal Court in Ozamiz City to resume the trial on G.R. No. 219325 for six counts of violation of Batas Pambansa (PB) Bilang 22, otherwise known as the Bouncing Checks Law.

Assassination attempt

On 15 October 2023, Oaminal survived an IED attack on his convoy in Clarin, Misamis Occidental.

See also

* House of Representatives of the Philippines
* 2022 Philippine gubernatorial elections
* Ozamiz City

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oaminal, Henry Sr.
21st-century Filipino politicians
20th-century Filipino lawyers
1958 births
Living people