Court of Appeals orders reinstatement of Panglao mayor

Embattled Bohol Panglao Mayor Leonila Paredes-Montero was reinstated as town mayor on Monday morning. /Photo courtesy of JP Maslog

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – Embattled Panglao Bohol Mayor Leonila Paredes-Montero on Monday reclaimed her position as town mayor after the Court of Appeals granted her appeal.

Personnel from the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Central Visayas (DILG–7) and provincial office served Montero’s reinstatement on Monday morning.

Acting Mayor Pedro Fuertes, who earlier promised to step down if ordered, was directed to return to his original post as the town’s vice mayor.

Montero returned to office on September 10 even without a DILG order, triggering a confusion since the town had two mayors.

Tension worsened two weeks ago when the office of Fuertes was cemented by unidentified men to prevent him from reporting. The incident was under investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Montero was dismissed for three months last October 24, 2017, by then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. She was found guilty of simple misconduct for appointing four defeated candidates less than a year after losing in the elections.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, Montero hired the four as consultants in July 2013, just two months after they lost in the May polls, without executing any contract of service or issuance of any appointment paper duly reviewed and approved by the town council.

There is a one-year prohibition on the appointment of a candidate who loses in an election.