Town councilor wants colleagues suspended

CEBU, Philippines- A member of the municipal council of San Francisco, Camotes Island is seeking for the preventive suspension of the rest of the members of the council pending the investigation into the complaints he filed against them.

In his position paper submitted to the Cebu Provincial Board, Councilor Edgardo Maningo, the lone minority member of the San Francisco Municipal Council, asserted that the council committed grave abuse of authority, oppression, gross misconduct, conduct unbecoming a public official, and violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices law when they suspended him for 30 days allegedly without due process.

He alleged that the council took advantage of their majority power by imposing the penalty upon him through procedural shortcuts which, he said, is a clear manifestation of their partiality.

“It is clear that respondents, by brazen display of political power, trampled upon the rules upon which their official actions are supposed to be governed with. Their actions thus are subsumed with dishonest purpose and attended with a conscious doing of a wrong, that is, to oppress complainant (Maningo),” Maningo said.

“All of these acts, in sum, subvert the fundamental requirements of fair play and due process of law which cause undue injury to the complainant,” he added.

The councilors charged were Aurelia Andrade, Alejandro Cartagena, Renato Borromeo, Nerisa Arquillano, Avelino Obenza, Silvestre Formentea Jr. and Hectpor Capao.

The late Vice Mayor Allan Arquillano was among the respondents. He succumbed to cancer in March this year.

The Provincial Board, during its regular session yesterday, referred the matter to its investigating committee for further actions.

Maningo recounted in his complaint that Arquillano, the presiding officer, during their regular session on June 17 last year, reportedly ignored the councilor six times when he sought recognition to speak on matters regarding his proposed resolution calendared for that day.

Infuriated by Arquillano’s conduct and “lack of respect” for his rights as a member of the council, Maningo questioned his conduct, stood up, banged a pile of papers on his desk and walked out of the session hall as a sign of protest.

Three days after that session, Maningo received a resolution reportedly passed on the day of the incident suspending him from June 24 to July 23, 2014 for his manner.

On June 23, he said he filed a motion for reconsideration on the grounds that the resolution suspending him violated the Internal Rules of Procedure, but the same was denied.

In the past interview with The FREEMAN, Arquillano disclosed that Maningo showed rude behavior while the council was having a session which prompted its discipline committee to decide on the 30-day suspension of the councilor. He added that they just followed the rules and procedure.

Maningo also filed the same complaint before the Regional Trial Court in Danao City and the case is still pending.  (FREEMAN)