Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama suspended for 6 months

Ombud suspends Cebu City mayor over employees getting reassigned, not getting their pay

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has been suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman over the case of reassigning employees at city hall which led to their not being paid their salaries for 10 months. | CDN FILE PHOTO  (Pia Piquero)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has been placed under suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman.

The state’s anti-graft investigating body on Wednesday, May 8 announced that they ordered to put Rama under preventive suspension for six months.

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Aside from Rama, seven other city hall officials were also included in the suspension order. They are lawyer Collin Rossell, Maria Theresa Rossell, Francis May Jacaban, Angelique Cabugao, Jay-Ar Pescante, Lester Joey Beniga and Nelyn Sanrojo. 

In a resolution issued by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, he said that they had seen sufficient grounds to preventively suspend Rama for the complaint of grave misconduct and conduct unbecoming of a public officer, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest among others. 

The decision stemmed over a case that involved the reassigning of several city hall employees that resulted in the city government’s failure to pay them their wages for 10 months.

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Rama, however, declined to comment on the matter as of this writing, saying he has yet to receive a copy of the suspension order from the Ombudsman.

“I do not know what they are talking about…How can I be into a preventive suspension when I have not received a copy of any complaint,” Rama told reporters via phone interview.