Filemon Maribao, chief of police of Ronda, Cebu

Filemon Maribao was a resident of Ronda, Cebu. Chief Maribao, who was a civil service eligible, was appointed by Councilor Toribio Chiong. Toribio was at that time a councilor who obtained the fifth place according to the number of votes obtained in the local elections of November 1951 (the last election before the 1955 elections).

Councilor Chiong became acting municipal mayor of Ronda on December 16, 1955, that the ranking councilor at the time of the appointment of Mr. Chiong as acting mayor was Councilor Lourdes V. Diama who obtained the second highest number of votes, while the number one councilor was Lucio Ortiz who was a candidate for mayor in the elections of 1955 thus considered automatically resigned as councilor of Ronda in accordance with the provisions of the Election Code then.

Maribao accepted the appointment signed by Councilor Chiong, who was acting municipal mayor. Chief Maribao received his salaries from the time of his appointment up to and including January 15, 1956.

Councilor Ortiz won in the election of 1955, and upon assumption of office on January 1, 1956 as mayor of Ronda, he issued an Executive Order dated January 16, 1956 advising Filemon Maribao to vacate the office of the chief of police of Ronda, Cebu. Maribao was also advised to turn over all properties to the municipal mayor, who will in turn deliver them to Honorato Villafane who was appointed as the new chief.

Mayor Ortiz was administratively investigated and temporarily suspended for one month after which he was reinstated. The complainant was chief Maribao.

Mayor Ortiz argued that Maribao's appointment was not approved by the Commissioner of Civil Service, nor by the Executive Secretary of the Office of the President of the Philippines considering that the new mayor (Ortiz) withdrew his appointment. Chief Maribao went to the Court of First Instance to question the action of Mayor Ortiz, this was however dismissed. This prompted Chief Maribao to appeal his case before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on July 30, 1960 said that the designation by Fortunato Villalon (outgoing mayor of Ronda) of Councilor Toribio Chiong as mayor of Ronda was not in accordance with the Revised Administrative Code. Such being illegal, he could not also appoint Maribao as chief of police. The Court also added that the appointment of Honorato Villafane as the new chief of police was valid.

Filemon Maribao was represented by the famous lawyer at that time, Jose F. Remotigue of Ronda, Cebu, who was admitted to the Bar on August 2, 1948. Aside from Jose, other Remotigues who became lawyers were Francisco Emilio F. Remotigue (who became Governor of Cebu) who became a lawyer on November 18, 1935, and Josefino B. Remotigue who became a lawyer on June 20, 1974. Atty. J.F. Remotigue's co-counsel in the Maribao's case was Jesus P. Garcia (elder brother of Governor and Congressman Pablo Paras Garcia) who became a lawyer on November 4, 1946 while his younger brother, Pablo, became a lawyer on January 25, 1952.

Incidentally, Mayor Lucio Ortiz, the Provincial Treasurer and the Provincial Auditor of the Province of Cebu made respondents in the Maribao case was represented by the Assistant Provincial Fiscal who was also a Maribao.  The fiscal's name was Ananias V. Maribao who carried the initial and more known as Fiscal A.V. Maribao. Fiscal Maribao became a lawyer on November 10, 1934. The other Maribao's of Ronda who became lawyers were Gil V. Maribao (admitted to the Bar on March 28, 1949) and Herminio V. Maribao (who was admitted to the Bar on March 20, 1967).