Team Rama chiefs mull filing case against Margot

THE 47 barangay captains allied with Barug Team Rama are planning to file counter charges against Cebu City Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña after the Office of the Ombudsman cleared them of the criminal and administrative complaints filed by the councilor against them.

Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman said that they are contemplating filing a damage and malicious prosecution case against Osmeña.

“The barangay captains wanted to file a case since there was malice in what she did in announcing to the media that what we did was carnapping,” said Ayuman, who is also the vice president of the Association of Barangay Councils in Cebu City, in Cebuano.

Ayuman was referring to the incident in June last year when Osmeña, who was then the acting mayor of Cebu City filed a criminal cases against barangay officials before the Ombudsman from carnapping to malversation of public property, grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and gross insubordination.

Councilor Philip Zafra, who is also the ABC Cebu City president, said the ABC would meet with their lawyer next week to discuss the matter.

When sought for comment, Osmeña said that “that’s totally up to them.”

Osmeña filed the cases last year over the barangay captains’ failure to return their city-owned vehicles.

However, the Ombudsman cleared the 47 barangay officials including now Councilor Joel Garganera of the charges against them. In an Aug. 9 decision, Ombudsman said that Osmeña’s complaint “failed to specify undue injury, or the actual damages, that the city or any person suffered by virtue of respondents’ failure to return the vehicles.”