The battle continues between the Cebu City Government, through the Cebu City Legal Office, and the camp of former mayor Tomas Osmeña over the state of the Mayor’s Office. CDND FILE PHOTO and Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines―I am not afraid of former mayor Tomas Osmeña.
This was the statement of Cebu City Legal Officer Rey Gealon after he learned of the plans of Osmeña’s camp to request a redress from the Office of the Ombudsman for his and City Hall Administrator Floro Casas Jr.’s alleged intervention in the “restoration” of the Mayor’s Office.
Gealon described Osmeña’s move as a “vengeance suit” which does not sit well in court.
It was in the Office of the Ombudsman that the Cebu City government filed charges of theft and graft and corruption against the former mayor.
“Vengeance suit is what you call it. This has been frowned upon by the courts. We were already anticipating this diversionary tactic simply because they cannot answer the issues head on,” said Gealon.
In a statement released to the media, lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan, the legal counsel of Osmeña, said that the restoration of the Mayor’s Office was stopped because of Casas and Gealon’s intervention on the dawn of July 28, 2019, when the workers of Dakay Construction were restoring the place to its 2016 state.
“We need to remember that when Labella’s lawyers intervened on June 28, 2019, Tomas Osmeña was still mayor. He still had the right to remove his belongings and to restore the office to what it was in 2016 before he assumed office again. Without the interference of Labella’s lawyers, the works should have been finished, ” said Ligutan.
Ligutan further said the camp of incumbent Mayor Edgardo Labella exploited the condition of the unfinished restoration for political gains.
Recently, Osmeña wrote a letter to Labella asking the incumbent mayor to allow him to fully restore the Mayor’s Office to its 2016 case.
However, the City Legal Office disallowed Osmeña to do so, pending investigations of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
READ: Osmeña to Labella: Allow me to restore Mayor’s Office
READ: Cebu City Legal Office to Osmeña: ‘No, you can’t restore the Mayor’s Office’
Gealon, in previous statements, said the former mayor is just making an excuse, an “after thought” of the cases filed against him.
“First, they filed a case against the complainant, who was the head of the Building Maintenance Section. Second, they are threatening to file a case against me and Lawyer Floro Casas, Jr. Don’t be surprised if they will eventually file a case against the Mayor or anyone who merely acted in upholding the rights and interests of the good people of Cebu City whose property was vandalized and demonized,” said Gealon.
“Filing a case is one thing, winning is another. We are ready for anything, knowing fully well that we are on the side of truth and justice,” he added. / celr