Garcia to take oath before DILG: Permanent mayor

CEBU, Philippines — Just a few days from now, Cebu City acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia will officially be holding the highest seat in the city following the dismissal and perpetual disqualification of Mayor Michael Rama from government service.

On the other hand, Rama's camp has filed a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition before the Supreme Court with an "Application for Issuance of a Status Quo Ante Order and Urgent Motion for the Conduct of a Special Raffle" to assure that his candidacy for city mayor in the midterm election next year will not be affected by the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman.

In a press conference yesterday, Garcia announced that he was notified by the Human Resource Development Office (HRDO) last October 7, 2024 that the decision of the Ombudsman was already served at the Cebu City Hall.

He said it was first served at the Office of the Mayor, with Rama, Cebu City Mayor, as the addressee. The same copy was also transmitted to the HRDO.

Although he is compelled by the law to permanently assume the position of city mayor, Garcia said nothing will change since he assumed as the acting mayor last Mayor 10, 2024 and the Cebu City Hall will be “business as usual.”

“Really, no change. It’s just that from May 10 to June, within the 30 days, there are some things that I couldn’t do especially to hire and fire but I have already lapsed 30 days but all the functions of the mayor are already in me, ang kalahian lang gyud karon is there is a permanent vacancy unlike before that it was just a temporary vacancy,” said Garcia.

Rama, alongside seven other Cebu City Hall officials, was initially slapped with a six-month preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman last May 8, 2024. This stemmed from the complaint of four Cebu City Hall employees who were not paid with their entitled wages for ten months. A day after, Garcia assumed the position as the acting mayor.

Garcia is supposed to return to his functions as vice mayor this November 10 as Rama is also expected to go back to mark the end of his preventive suspension.

However, just last October 2, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman released its ruling after finding Rama guilty of nepotism and grave misconduct, slapping the latter with the penalty of dismissal from service.

Rama will also face cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits except for accrued leave credits, and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in government service.

The dismissal is related to a case filed last February 28, 2023, by a certain Jonel Saceda, also known as “Inday Josa Chongbian Osmeña,” against Rama for alleged nepotism after the mayor appointed two brothers of his wife as casual employees of Cebu City Hall.

With this decision, it supersedes the preventive suspension slapped against Rama, hence barring him from going back as city mayor.

“As such, I now have to serve as mayor for the unexpired portion for the term of office of Mayor Mike,” Garcia said.

Garcia said this will be officialized when he takes his oath before the DILG-7 after the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC). Garcia will be filing his COC today, October 8, 2024, reportedly for Cebu City Mayor in the 2025 polls.

“Gamay ra kaayog diperensya, ang kanang acting, di na acting,” he said.

When asked what could be the major changes in Cebu City now that he will be sitting as mayor on a permanent capacity, Garcia said that department heads in coterminous status with the appointing authority hangs by a thread. He said that once the appointing authority is no longer in the seat, the rest of the appointees will also be terminated.

With this, Garcia said he will be exercising his power to appoint conterminous employees. Initially, Garcia said there are at least 30 employees in coterminous status in Cebu City Hall. He said that he will be reviewing all names individually to check each one of them.

Garcia further assured that he will just continue what he started when he assumed post as acting mayor.

Among those that Garcia reiterated are his directives to hold the Sinulog Festival at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC). He, however, said the venue at the South Road Properties (SRP) will still be prepared as a back-up plan.

“Now as Mayor, with more vigor, I am going to say that it is still going to be in Abellana Sports Center. No changes,” said Garcia.

Petition for certiorari

Following the release of Rama’s dismissal order, Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia disclosed that elected public officials meted with perpetual disqualification by the Office of the Ombudsman still have a chance if they can secure a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals for their COC not to be cancelled.

The COMELEC chair, however, stressed that “it is subject to appeal but it is immediately executory.

But Rama's petition challenges the decision stipulating that COMELEC cannot "in the guise of enforcing and administering election laws or promulgating rules and regulations, validly impose qualifications on candidates in addition to what the Constitution and the law prescribes."

The same petition also argues that the discretion of the Commission En Banc on the referral

for administrative cancellation of COC to the Law Department accordingly limited to instances when there is an executory decision of the Ombudsman imposing a penalty of disqualification or when there is a final judgement of conviction which imposes an accessory penalty.

They added that in issuing the Comelec Resolution, the Comelec "gravely abused its discretion in providing for the administrative cancellation of the Certificates of Candidacy of candidates who are subject to an executory albeit not yet final decision by the Office of the Ombudsman".

"As a result, the Comelec overstepped on the powers of Congress to determine the eligibility for an elective local post on the power of the Judiciary to interpret the law and dispense justice on the electorate's right to suffrage and, corollary thereto, the candidates' right to be voted upon," reads portion of the petition.

With this, the same petitions seek the SC's intervention to review an act of Comelec a "constitutional organ".

"The urgency of the situation is further highlighted by the recent alarming wave of decisions promulgated by the Ombudsman against potential aspirants for the 2025 Elections in relation to pending administrative cases against them," it further reads.

Garcia to Rama: ‘i wish him well’

With the legal remedies Rama will have to take against his dismissal, Garcia hopes his former ally well.

“I wish him well regarding the process he has to undertake. Of course, I know it must be a very difficult situation. I mean if it happens to me, I would also feel the same way. If it happens to anyone for that matter they would also feel the same way,” said Garcia.

“But ako, I wish him well, as a lawyer, I know he has a battery of lawyers who can battle this case and I wish him well in the legal process,” he added. — (FREEMAN)