San Pedro mayor’s backers hit oust order

LAGUNA , Philippines   â€“ Supporters of beleaguered San Pedro Mayor Calixto Cataquiz held an indignation rally early this week to protest a Malacañang order unseating him from his post.

Cataquiz questioned the order issued by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. days after President Aquino signed San Pedro’s cityhood charter last March 27, saying a ban on government appointments is in place due to the May polls.

Sonny Orduna, Cataquiz’s spokesman, said the mayor’s supporters would block any attempt to oust him.

Cataquiz, who is seeking re-election, was convicted in a graft case filed by employees of the Laguna Lake Development Authority which he headed from 2001 to 2003.