Muñoz vice mayor takes over as mayor

SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija, Philippines  â€“ This city’s vice mayor, Ester Lazaro, has assumed the mayoral post from Mayor Efren Alvarez whose motion for reconsideration on a graft conviction has been denied with finality by a Supreme Court division.

Lazaro took her oath of office as mayor before provincial prosecutor Floro Florendo last Thursday.

The city council earlier had approved a resolution that due to a permanent vacancy in the mayor’s office, Lazaro should assume the post so as not to affect the delivery of services to city residents.

This, after the council took cognizance of a second bench warrant issued last Feb. 15 by the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division which prompted the police and National Bureau of Investigation to carry out Alvarez’s arrest to no avail.

The second bench warrant was the offshoot of the issuance by the Supreme Court’s First Division last Feb. 6 of a resolution denying with finality Alvarez’s motion for reconsideration.     

It was the second time Lazaro assumed the mayoral post in four months. She also held the post from Nov. 5 to 28 last year after Alvarez went on prolonged absence due to an earlier arrest warrant issued against him by the Sandiganbayan over a P240-million graft case.

But Alvarez was reinstated on Nov. 29 after his arrest warrant was lifted by the anti-graft court when he filed a motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court.