Cortes still eligible for 2025 mayoral race despite CA’s TRO denial – Calipayan
Mandaue City Administrator Atty. Jamaal James Calipayan. /CDN File Photo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – The Court of Appeals’ (CA) denial of the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) request regarding the suspension of dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes will not affect his eligibility to run in the May 2025 elections, according to a city official.
“Mayor [Cortes] can still run for office, and his legal team is prepared to pursue the case through all available legal avenues,” stated Mandaue City Administrator, Lawyer Jamaal James Calipayan.
In an interview on March 7, Calipayan clarified that the CA’s decision only pertains to the TRO and does not affect the ongoing review of the main case.
The TRO was part of their petition for review, filed after the Office of the Ombudsman denied Cortes’ Motion for Reconsideration in November 2024.
The Ombudsman suspended Cortes for one year, effective August 2024, over grave misconduct related to his appointment of Camilo S. Basaca Jr. as Officer-in-Charge of the Mandaue City Social Welfare Services Office in 2022. Basaca’s appointment was deemed illegal due to his alleged lack of qualifications for the role.
Despite the CA’s denial of the TRO on February 28, citing lack of merit, Calipayan emphasized that this ruling does not affect the review of the suspension case, which remains under legal process. He noted that such denials are typical, as Ombudsman rulings are rarely subject to TROs.
The legal team remains optimistic that the court will ultimately recognize the merits of their arguments.
Calipayan further pointed out that the Supreme Court had granted a separate TRO, allowing Cortes to remain on the ballot for the mayoral race. This ruling remains in effect, ensuring Cortes’ eligibility to run for office.
The one-year suspension followed complaints about Cortes’ appointment of Basaca, who was alleged to be unqualified under the 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions. The Ombudsman determined that Basaca’s appointment violated regulations requiring employees in certain positions to hold permanent appointments.
In their petition for review, Cortes’ legal team argued that the Ombudsman should not have had jurisdiction over the case. According to them, the authority to rule on appointments and designations rests with the Civil Service Commission, not the Ombudsman.
In addition to the suspension, the Ombudsman dismissed Cortes from his position as mayor in October 2024 due to another case involving the operation of a batching plant, Suprea Philippines Development Corp., from 2020 to 2022 without the necessary permits and clearances.
Calipayan said that the outcome of the ongoing review of the suspension case could significantly influence the dismissal case.
“If madismiss ang first case, wala nay basis supposedly nga madismiss si Mayor,” he said. (If the first case is dismissed, there would supposedly be no basis for the Mayor’s dismissal.)
Calipayan noted that the first case, which resulted in a one-year suspension for grave misconduct, was used to justify the second case. The second charge, filed in October 2024, was also for grave misconduct, but since it was considered a repeat offense, the penalty escalated from suspension to dismissal.
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