Rosell: Panel of lawyers to address Mayor Rama’s nepotism case

CEBU CITY, Philippines (UPDATED)– The two younger brothers of Mayor Michael Rama’s wife, Malou Gimenez Mandanat-Rama, have been working in the city hall since 2015, Secretary to the mayor Atty. Collin Rosell said in response to the nepotism controversy involving the mayor.

Rosell also said that a panel of lawyers is now working to address the criminal and administrative complaints that a concerned citizen filed against the mayor before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas last week.

“If we’re talking about the brothers, what we can say is that they have been working in the city hall since 2015 and the renewal of their contracts follows a process that is being handled by our Human Resources Department (Office)…It all goes through a long process,” Rosell was quoted in a social media post by the city hall’s Public Information Office.

A concerned citizen named Jonel Saceda, with an alias “Inday Josa Chongbian Osmeña,” accused Rama of nepotism, grave misconduct, and graft and corruption for the hiring of his wife’s two younger brothers to work as casual City Hall employees.

READ: Rama faces raps over alleged nepotic appointments

However, Rosell told city hall employees, on Monday, that this is not a cause for concern as they are confident that the Human Resource Department of the city hall can justify the complaint.

“Dunay issue. To be direct, niingon sila, duna’y nepotismo, pero dili ta angay mabalaka niana tungod kay kita usa man ka grupo. Unya, while usa ta ka grupo, duna’y departamento nga diin na assign nianang mga butanga. Duna ang lig-on kaayo nato nga Human Resource Department,” he told city hall employees after the flag-raising ceremony at Plaza Sugbo on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023.

The flag-raising ceremony was also streamed live on the official Facebook page of the city hall’s Public Information Office.

“Unya kining butanga sad, dili angay nga ikabalaka kung ngari lang sa pangagamhanan tungod kay naa man tay daghan nga mga abogado ni siyang butanga ug issueha sa atong mga abogado. Dili lang sa sud sa city hall, apil na ang mga kauban natong abogado nga naa sa gawas ug uban nga mga dumadapig,” he added.

Rosell also told city hall employees on Monday “to pray for each and everyone” for the successful realization of the vision for a Singapore-like Cebu City.

Saceda, in his complaint-affidavit, said Rama’s appointment of his brothers-in-law Elmer and Gomer Gimenez Mandanat after the mayor’s election is against the law as the two are his third-degree relation by affinity or by marriage.

His complaint came with a copy of the appointment order of Elmer Gimenez Mandanat as process server under the Office of the Mayor for July 1, 2022, until December 30, 2022, and Gomer Gimenez Mandanat as administrative aide III under the Cebu City Medical Center for July 1, 2022, until December 31, 2022.

/bmjo