Osmeña sues Dino for obstruction of justice

OSMEÑA

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has filed a complaint with the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman seeking to investigate Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino for obstruction of justice.

Osmeña also wanted Dino suspended to prevent him from interfering in the ongoing investigation against Ermita officials led by barangay captain Felicisimo “Imok” Rupinta, who were earlier accused by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) of failure to cooperate in their anti-drugs campaign.

Lawyer Jeff Mikol Opay of the City Legal Office handed Osmeña’s complaint to the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman past 2 p.m. yesterday.

While Mayor Osmeña did not personally appear during the filing of the complaint, he had the documents notarized earlier in the day.

Jonji Gonzales, Dino’s media liaison officer, said they are still waiting for a copy of the complaint so they can have this reviewed by the Solicitor General.
They will also be sending copies to Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Secretary Salvador Panelo and the Department of Justice.

Dino was attending a cabinet meeting in Malacañang when City Hall filed the complaint yesterday.

“Mura man ni siya ug assault sa (This is like an assault to) Malacañang. Ang nikiha ang Cebu City man ug ang gikiha ang Malacañang (The complainant is Cebu City and the subject of the complaint is Malacañang),” Gonzales said in an interview with radio dyAB.

Gonzales insisted that as president Rodrigo Duterte’s alter ego, Dino may have the responsibility to also monitor developments in barangay Ermita.

But Dino has been very clear from the start that he does not intend to interfere in the appointment of a barangay caretaker, a task that he wanted to be entrusted to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“Ang kanang pag-appoint ug caretaker sa barangay, ang maka-appoint ra ang president ra. Ug imong tan-awon mao na ang trabaho niya (Dino) as (the president’s) alter ego. How can it be obstruction of justice? Makaingon pa hinuon ta nga (ang guilty ug) obstruction si mayor Tom kay nanghilabot siya sa trabaho sa presidente nga mag-appoint ug caretaker,” Gonzales added.

(Only the President can appoint a barangay caretaker. And as you can see, Dino acts as the president’s alter ego. How can it be obstruction of justice? We would rather say that the one guilty of obstruction is mayor Tom because he interfered in the job of the president to appoint a caretaker).

Gonzales said that Dino may now decide to pursue an earlier plan to file oral defamation charge against Osmeña as soon as the Ombudsman case against him is dismissed.