Office of the President: Cortes guilty of dereliction

CEBU, Philippines - The Office of the President has found Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes guilty of dereliction of duty over his refusal to implement a validly enacted ordinance, but was cleared in five other complaints filed by six incumbent councilors of that city.

The decision, dated July 27, 2009 yet but obtained only recently, was signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

For being guilty of dereliction of duty, Cortes is to be penalized with a mere reprimand.

Cortes was, however, cleared by the Office of the President of the other charges of dishonesty, oppression, grave misconduct, abuse of authority and culpable violation of the Constitution.

The Office of the President has jurisdiction over complaints against elected officials in highly urbanized cities.

The Freeman repeatedly tried to get in touch with Cortes through his phone but the calls were not answered.

The councilors who filed the complaint against Cortes were Victor Biano, Alfonso Albano Jr., Ma. Noeleen Borbajo, Procopio Villanueva, Editha Cabahug and Emiliano Rosal.

They filed the complaint before the Office of the President on May 12, 2008.

The complaint centered on City Ordinance 11-2007-428 which appropriated a P688 million annual budget for 2008 for the City of Mandaue which Cortes vetoed on January 24, 2008, specifically some line items and Section 2 of the ordinance for allegedly being “riders.”

Section 2 reads: “That the appropriation for ‘other programs and projects’ under the lumpum appropriations in the amount of P58,923,200.00 shall be used and/or disbursed only through the corresponding enabling resolution of the SP pursuant to Section 77 of Republic Act 7160 and the appropriation for other programs and projects, item 12 of the Annual Investment Plan in the amount of P6 million shall likewise be used and disbursed only through the corresponding enabling SP resolution.”

Cortes, through his lawyer Benjamin Cabrido Jr., filed a 16-page “Answer with Countercharge” that “Ordinance No. 11-2007-428 which was passed at the principal instance of complainants are deemed ultra vires and that the respondent mayor has no duty to execute or implement such invalid ordinance.”

Cortes, through Cabrido, said “the move (Section 2) is not only an unbashed interference to and usurpation of the mayor’s function as chief executive but it is a callous stratagem to create a regime of paralysis in the city’s fiscal governance as well.”

On February 20, 2008, the members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod overrode the mayor’s veto and approved Resolution No. 11-103-2008 entitled “Overriding the veto of the mayor on line items of Ordinance No. 11-2007-428.”

On March 4, 2008, Vice Mayor Carlo Pontico Fortuna issued twin notices (in English and Cebuano) to all city government employees informing them that the said ordinance contains the appropriation for personnel services for job orders/program employees to be hired for the year 2008.

On March 5, 2008, Cortes issued Executive Order No. 13 ordering several departments heads to set aside and disregard Section 2 of the said ordinance, contending it is ilegal, invalid and violates Section 77 of the Local Government Code of 1991.

Two days after the exchange, Fortuna issued a memorandum informing the concerned department heads that the mayor misquoted the said provision, contending that the latter (mayor) has no power to declare an ordinance illegal or unlawful as only the Court may do so.

Then on March 10, 2008, Cortes issued a letter entitled “Pagpahibaw ug pagklaro sa hiwing systema ug paagi sa atong konseho sa pagpanghilabut sa katungod sa mayor paggamit sa kuarta alang sa sueldo sa atong mga empleyado.”

Cortes, on March 12, 2009, then issued E.O. No. 14 ordering the concerned department heads to disregard Fortuna’s memorandum-letter dated March 7, 2008. On the same day, the SP passsed Resolution No. 11-203-2008 condemning the alleged illegal acts of the mayor for ordering the department heads to disregard the vice mayor’s memorandum.

A preliminary conference was held on December 2, 2009 at the DILG Office in the city wherein both parties presented their respective evidences on record, etc.

After investigation, DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno, in a letter dated June 2, 2009, recommended to the Office of the President that Cortes be found guilty of the charges and be meted a penalty of six months suspension for grave misconduct and an additional six months suspension for oppression and abuse of authority.

But the Office of the President, through Ermita, chose to punish Cortes only for dereliction of duty, with the punishment being a mere reprimand, despite agreeing that Cortes was remiss in his duty (as stipulated under Section 455 of Republic Act 7160) and, for issuing executive orders and a letter, to have acted beyond his powers and authority.

The dereliction of duty was for his refusal to implement a validly enacted ordinance.

The countercharge filed by the mayor against the complainants was similarly dismissed. -/JST (THE FREEMAN)