Gwen,Tom trade motions in court

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday asked for a permanent mandatory and prohibitory injunction against the appointments of former city councilor Manuel Legaspi and Joel Mari Yu as board of directors of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District.

Garcia, through the Provincial Attorney’s Office, asked the court to order the Cebu City Mayor to withdraw the appointments of Yu and Legaspi to the MCWD board because the authority to make such appointments belongs to her.

The Provincial Government earlier filed a petition for injunction against former city mayor, now South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña, Yu and MCWD questioning the city mayor’s authority to appoint the members of the MCWD board of directors.

The Governor claimed she has the authority to appoint the members of the MCWD Board based on the provisions of the Presidential Decree 198 or the Local Water Utilities Act. The court on November 16 rendered a decision favoring Garcia’s claim when it nullifies Yu’s appointment into the MCWD Board.

The court declared Yu’s appointment as illegal and null and void. But, as Garcia wants to make it permanent by asking for an injunction, Osmeña and Yu, through the city attorney’s office, yesterday asked the court to have the ruling reconsidered.

They prayed before the court to declare Garcia to have no right to appoint the members of the MCWD Board based on Section 3 of the Local Water Utilities Act.

According to them, the court did not fully appreciate the gravity of the Constitutional violation of due process for being capricious and arbitrary which is discernable in the face of the controverted provision.

The motions of both Garcia and Osmeña are scheduled for hearing today. (FREEMAN)