TOLEDO City Mayor John Henry Osmeña yesterday sought the intervention of the Court of Appeals (CA) to allow the local government unit to disburse the 2014 annual budget amounting to P619 million.
He asked the court to lift the order of Judge Hermes Montero of the Toledo City Regional Trial Court which recently stopped the mayor Vice Mayor Antonio Yapha Jr., and Councilors Leo Dolino, Merly Abad, and Zosimo Abellanosa, from implementing the budget’s City Ordinance known as Appropriation No. 2014-001.
Osmeña also requested the CA to stop Judge Montero from hearing the case filed against him.
“The instant petition involves the public interest which necessitates extremely urgent action before this honorable court,” said Toledo City Administrator Glenn Cavada who prepared the petition for certiorari filed before the CA in Cebu City yesterday afternoon.
“Note that the instant case involves the 2014 Annual Budget of Toledo City, the implementation of which was joined by the judge despite the fact that several projects and programs were already obligated and several obligations of the city were already due to payment under the 2014 Annual Budget,” he added.
Appropriation No. 2014-001 involves P619,141,201.22 which is intended for various expenditures, specific programs, projects, services and activities, and other capital expenditures of the city government of Toledo.
Osmeña said Montero should not have handled the case since the latter was quoted by a local daily that he received a death threat from the mayor.
“Having had that issue in mind which is still fresh in the minds of the people of Toledo City, the honorable judge should have inhibited himself from conducting, much more ruling on the petition
Toledo City Councilors Ricardo Pepito, Antonio Borja Jr., Rogelio Caburnay, Louis Nicholas Espinosa, Helen Jill Espinosa and Edgardo Aguilar earlier filed a case in court against Osmeña, Yapha, Dolino, Abad and Abellanosa.
The complainants asked the Toledo City RTC to declare Appropriation No. 2014-001 as null and void.
They alleged that there was no quorum during the special session last March 27, when the questioned ordinance was passed.
Judge Montero earlier issued a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) and eventually a preliminary injunction to stop the disbursement of the P619 million annual budget.
The order shall remain while the court hears the main case as to whether or not the approval of the budget underwent the proper and legal process.
In his order, Montero said the issue involves disbursement of public funds in a huge amount—something which calls for the exercise of judicious caution in the highest interest of justice.