Garcia asks for chance to speak before plenary

CEBU, Philippines - Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Gamaliel Garcia has asked the Cebu Provincial Board to give him the opportunity to argue on his motions on the report of its committee on complaints and investigation suspending him for six months for grave abuse of authority.

This, after the PB denied his three motions on Monday for “lack of basis” and “perpetually delaying” the body’s approval of the committee report.

Garcia filed an urgent omnibus motion before the PB on Wednesday for his plea, including the reversal of the PB’s denial on his motions.

The PB calendared the omnibus motion for discussion on its regular session Monday.

The three denied motions were for the committee “to hold in abeyance the final resolution on the grave abuse of authority case” until his appeal before the Office of the President is resolved, to “defer the final resolution” by the investigating committee on the case pending his appeal, and “set aside and strike off the record” the committee’s report.

The investigating committee had contended that Garcia’s motions “appear to be last ditch efforts to delay the approval of the committee report.”

“The respondent (Garcia) is resorting to filing all kinds of motions, which… have already been ruled previously by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,” the committee said.

Garcia lamented that the body “summarily” and “collectively” denied his three motions without allowing him to argue on his motions despite his presence during the regular session last Monday.

He pointed out that there were “crucial and relevant issues” raised in his motions which were enough reasons for him to be allowed to speak for himself.

“In as much as the respondent (Garcia) and the undersigned counsels were present during the said session, the proper, just and appropriate action of this Honorable Office should have been to allow the respondent, or his counsel, to speak and expound on the merits of the motions as part of his intrinsic right to due process, in the same way that the Rules of Court requires hearing on motions filed by parties to the case so the issues are threshed out and debated upon before the same is resolved,” Garcia stated in his appeal.

“Yet, instead of allowing respondent to argue on these motions, they were summarily denied and hastily branded as delaying tactics by the (committee) when the same motions contained valid grounds and legal basis,” he added.

Garcia said that denial of the opportunity for him to argue on his motions was tantamount to violating his right to be heard.

PB Member Grecilda Sanchez, investigating committee co-chairperson, how-ever, said pendency of Garcia’s appeal before the Office of the President does not prevent the committee’s decision from being “final and executory”.

Although, the PB approved the committee’s re-commendation last Monday, the body will still deliberate on during its regular session Monday next week the motion of PB Member Alex Binghay, Garcia’s ally, to reduce the penalty from six months suspension to just three months.

The grave abuse of authority case stemmed from the complaint lodged by Dumanjug Vice Mayor Efren Guntrano Gica on September 16, 2013 over the appointment of the municipal council secretary- a power that belongs to the vice mayor. — Michael Vencynth H. Braga/RHM (FREEMAN)