Ombudsman junks case vs Caloocan mayor

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed last week a criminal case against Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri filed by three private parking firm employees seven years ago.

The Ombudsman earlier ruled that there was a probable cause to indict Echiverri for the alleged illegal arrest of Pedrito Gragaslao, Lito Lipay, and Arnel Landeza, all former employees of Jadewell Parking Systems Corp., a private pay parking firm.

Echiverri then ordered the apprehension of the three traffic enforcers after he learned they still continued to perform their duties despite the city council’s suspension of the parking firm’s operations in Caloocan City.

In a resolution dated March 31, 2003, the city council suspended Jadewell Parking’s operations claiming that its scheme failed to alleviate parking and traffic problem in the city.

The three parking firm employees filed a case against Echiverri before the Ombudsman, claiming that the mayor’s order to arrest them was unlawful, for which the anti-graft court initially found the mayor liable.

But after several years of deliberation and review, the Ombudsman finally ruled in favor of Echiverri “reversing and setting aside” its previous resolution finding a cause for unlawful arrest and dismissed the case.

The Ombudsman noted that Echiverri’s arrest order was part of his “function” to make a personal inquiry about the status of the implementation of an ordinance suspending the parking firm operations and it was “authorized by law.”

The Sandiganbayan received on Nov. 14 the Ombudsman’s order of dismissal of the criminal case against Echiverri.