With her husband Cebu City Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña looking on, Councilor and Acting Mayor Margot Osmeña signs some documents in her office minutes after taking oath. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A day after conceding to Cebu City Mayor-elect Tomas Osmeña, outgoing Mayor Michael Rama and several city councilors began serving the suspension order issued against them by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
But instead of six months, the suspension will last until June 30 since the decision from the Office of the President states that the suspension should not exceed the unexpired terms of the officials.
The mayor’s staff refused to officially receive the copy of the order which prompted the regional DILG officials to just post the order on the glass door leading to the mayor’s office at 10:30 a.m. yesterday.
Aside from Rama, the suspension order was also posted on the office of Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella whose staff also refused to receive the copy.
However, the staff of the 12 councilors impleaded in the P20,000 calamity aid case filed by lawyer Reymelio Delute accepted their own copies of the order.
“In this regard, you are hereby directed to comply with this ORDER OF SUSPENSION by temporarily vacating your office, and consequently cease the performance of powers and functions appurtenant thereto, IMMEDIATELY upon receipt hereof,” read the DILG 7 memorandum to the officials.
The regional DILG also handed to the officials a copy of the May 16 DILG memorandum to DILG regional director Rene Burdeos; the April 6 decision from the Office of the President; and the May 10 Notice from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to DILG Usec Austere Panadero approving their request to exempt the suspension order from the election ban.
Burdeos, DILG Cebu City Director Danilo Almendras, DILG-7 legal officer Aiiza Fiel Nogra and two other DILG 7 staff went to the offices of each of the officials to serve the order.
Nogra said “by operation of law,” Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña, who isn’t among those suspended, should assume as acting mayor immediately since she had the most number of votes among the remaining councilors in the 2013 elections.
Even with only four councilors, including acting Vice Mayor Lea Japson, Nogra said the council can still hold sessions based on an opinion they already made in 2012 which allows the members to constitute a quorum.
Aside from Osmeña and Japson, the other councilors who were not suspended are Richard Osmeña, Philip Zafra and James Anthony Cuenco.
She also said they still have to give an official memo to Osmeña regarding her assumption as acting city mayor.
But even without the official document yet, Osmeña took her oath before Asst. Prosecutor Matet Calibugan-Casiño at the City Prosecutor’s Office.
In a press conference inside her office at the second floor of City Hall’s legislative building, where she said she will continue holding office as acting mayor, Osmeña assured continuity of basic services.
“I just want to assure everybody that we will continue to make sure that the basic services are (delivered) even better. I’m very confident that we can do it,” she said.