Castillo: Ban on suspensions in effect

EVEN if another suspension order is issued against Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, it can no longer be implemented because of the election period.

“Assuming for argument’s sake that there is really that suspension, when in truth and in fact we are confident that there is none, still it will not be implemented because it is already within the prohibited period,” City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo told reporters.

He pointed out that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has already declared a prohibition on suspension orders against local elective officials from January 10 until June 8.

Rule 4 of Comelec Resolution No. 10030 dated December 22, 2015 states that no elective provincial, city, municipal or barangay officer can be suspended unless there is prior written approval from the Comelec.

The only exception to the prohibition is if the suspension involves violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for those suspension orders that were already implemented before the start of the election period but is continuously served during or even after the period.

Rumors of another suspension for Rama, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and other Team Rama allies earlier prompted lawyer Jocelyn “Joy” Pesquera to refund the P20,000 calamity aid of Rama on his behalf.

The move, which she claimed to have made solely on her own, was firmly denied and disclaimed by Rama who said the refund should be considered invalid.

The administrative case on grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct filed by lawyer Reymelio Delute against Rama, Labella and 12 city councilors doesn’t fall under the exceptions to the suspension ban since it doesn’t involve graft and corruption, Castillo said.

The case was filed by Delute before the Office of the President. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) conducted hearings in relation to the case last year.

Asked on the possibility that the DILG might have asked for a written exemption from the Comelec in order to be able to implement the rumored suspension against Rama and other officials, Castillo said it’s very difficult considering that the city hasn’t received any resolution of the case.

“It’s very difficult to secure Comelec approval. It’s a process, there are still proceedings there. They don’t just approve it right away,” he said.

Under the Comelec Resolution, requests for Comelec exemption from the suspension ban needs to be supported by several documents including a certified true copy of the decision or resolution suspending an elective local official.

Castillo said the Office of the President or the DILG couldn’t have applied for the exemption since they haven’t issued a resolution to the case yet and it’s already January 15, five days into the ban.

In order for the decision or resolution to be certified and valid, he said it should have been first received by the concerned parties. As of yesterday, City Hall hasn’t received it.

Rama, who has been serving a 60-day preventive suspension order since December, is expected to re-assume as city mayor on February 8.

City Hall officials have been insisting that the grant of the calamity aid is above board that’s why they haven’t returned the P20,000 they received in 2013. Some councilors allied with the Bando

Osmena-Pundok Kauswagan (BO-PK)  returned their share after the Commission on Audit (COA) disallowed it.

The first one to do so, even before the COA disallowance, was councilor Alvin Dizon.

“When I returned the calamity aid, I didn’t think it would absolve me from any case. It’s just that I returned it since there was a lot of public clamor against it,” he said.

Pesquera said she decided to return the money to the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) to put the mayor on equal footing with the BO-PK councilors.

Castillo said the return of the amount won’t affect their case.

“If you’d like to put it as a defense, it should have been done before the trial of the case. To me, it’s insignificant. At the end of the day, the real question is: is the act valid or invalid? I’m really confident that we will win because we presented a very good case during the trial,” he said.