DILG to proceed with calamity cash aid inquiry

THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) denied the request of Cebu City officials to postpone yesterday’s start of their investigation into the administrative case filed against them.

DILG Summary Hearing Officer Isidro Barrios III said there is no temporary restraining order issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) against their inquiry into the allocation of P20,000 calamity cash aid to each Cebu City Hall employee and official last December 2013.

“Petitioners shall not interrupt a principal case unless a TRO has been issued. While the CA submitted the request for resolution, I can’t allow suspension of proceedings since there’s no TRO,” Barrios said in yesterday’s conference with city officials.

Last Friday, the lawyers of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and councilors Hanz Abella, Dave Tumulak, Gerardo Carillo and Noel Wenceslao filed a motion to reschedule the inquiry to September.

Charges of grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct were filed by lawyer Reymelio Delute against the mayor and the council.

Delute questioned the across-the-board allocation of P20,000 cash aid to each employee and official. He said not all of them suffered from the October 15 earthquake and supertyphoon Yolanda’s devastation in 2013.

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