Court lifts injunction on Toledo City budget

Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña (right) with City Attorney Glenn Cabada announce the ruling of the Court of Appeals in a press conference. (CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza)

Toledo City Mayor John Henry “Sonny” Osmeña secured a legal victory when the Court of Appeals lifted restrictions on the spending of funds from the city’s 2014 annual budget.
The CA reversed a preliminary injunction of a lower court in Toledo City.

“The grave and irreparable damage will result if the acts of the public respondent will not be temporarily restrained,” said Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez in a ruling issued yesterday.
The order takes effect immediately and is valid for 60 days. A hearing was set for June 11.

A victorious Osmeña said the court decision will allow basic services in the city to resume, after electricity at City Hall was cut off due to an unpaid P1.2-million bill.
In a press conference, Osmeña said he already called City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva to “get ready to release the salaries of the municipal employees.”

He said the Cebu Electric Cooperative III assured that it would reconnect power in all government offices, including streetlights, “immediately”.

“I’m happy for the people of Toledo for this. We can now restore basic services. It’s just very unfortunate that those who lost in the last elections would continue to block our administration,” said the 78-year-old former senator.

“I pity them (councilors who opposed the budget.) It’s true that they have the majority bloc but the majority of the electorate is with me. The ones who won the elections should be given the chance to run the city,” he added.

The development overshadowed a press conference held earlier in the day by Toledo city councilors who said the budget ordinance was “illegal” and that a reenacted budget of 2013 should be followed.

The councilors who opposed the budget in court were Helen Jill Espinosa,Nick Pepito, Antonio Borja Jr., Rogelio Caburnay, Louis Nicholas Espinosa and Edgardo Aguila
“They don’t want to reenact the budget and get the money to pay for the bills because according to them, doing that is already a sign of defeat. But at the expense of the people of Toledo?” said Councilor Espinosa.

Basic services

Osmeña said the earlier injunction order of RTC Judge Hermes Montero g “paralyzed” basic services in the city because the city government was unable to release funds.

Early this week, power was cut off in all government offices in Toledo except the city hospital and jail. Garbage collection trucks, fire trucks and city ambulances had no fuel.

The CA granted a TRO to prevent “irreparable damage” that could result from the “interruption of the delivery of public service.”

“Clearly, petitioner (Mayor Osmeña) as well as the constituents of Toledo City, has all to lose if the assailed Writ of Preliminary Injunction, will not be enjoined,ery of public service,” said the CA.