THE village chief of Sto. Nino, Malabuyoc vows to continue her campaign for the town’s top post even as she is facing dismissal and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.In a statement posted on her Facebook page, Sto. Nino village chief and Malabuyoc mayoral candidate Erlinda Piedad said the dismissal order against her is not yet final, as she recently filed an appeal before the anti-graft office.”Akong dawaton ang bisan unsa nga mga batikos nga gipahamtang nila kanako. Pero para sa katawhan sa Malabuyoc, ania gihapon si Edang (Piedad), dawaton ang tanang gipahamtang nila kanako. Pero dili kini pasabot nga dili nako modagan pagka mayor. Padayon gihapon ko sa paglaban para kaninyong mga kabos,” Piedad said.(I will accept every criticism imposed on me. But for the people of Malabuyoc, Edang is still here to accept it. But it does not mean that I will no longer seek the mayorship. We will continue to fight to defend the poor)Piedad, however, accused her political rivals of orchestrating her dismissal.Piedad is running for mayor against town councilor Daisy “Daya” Lim-Creus, the wife of Malabuyoc Mayor Lito Narciso Creus.Piedad, incumbent barangay councilor Luz Quiñones and former councilor Randy Quiñones were found guilty by the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas for illegally disbursing around P50,000 of their village funds supposedly for the conduct of socio-cultural activities including the holding of games and dance and singing contests in 2014.After receiving the decision of the Ombudsman, the Department of the Interior and Local Government issued an order on April 5, 2022, to Piedad and her two co-accused to vacate their post immediately.