The suspended mayor and the dismissed policemen of Dumanjug in 1967
When Guntrano C. Gica, the elected mayor of Dumanjug, Cebu was suspended his vice mayor, Pacifico Alpuerto became the acting mayor of Dumanjug. As acting mayor, Alpuerto on May 10, 1966 appointed the following as policemen of the town: Jesus Galeos, Hipolito Lapay, Adelaido Janea, Iluminado Ugbinar, Geronimo Quirante, Castor Demor, Alejandro Patlingrao, Federico Belonguil, Domingo Sagaysay, Desiero Cantiller and Felipe Arnaiz.
The appointments of the above-mentioned police officers of Dumanjug were duly approved by the municipal council. However, Mayor Guntrano C. Gica also made appointments as members of the police force of the town of Dumanjug. These were his appointees: Remegio Alpuerto (police sergeant), Sergio Cantones Cantones (police corporal), Lucio Riconalla, Eduardo Aldanese, Fortunato Patlingrao, Eugenio Tuanson, Valeriano Balansag, Buenaventura Escuadro, Inocencio Cabag, Lorenzo Alpuerto and Avelino Jongoy.
The conflict began when the Municipal Council of Dumanjug disapproved the appointments made by Mayor Guntrano C. Gica. What made it more complicated was that the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Constabulary and the Provincial Commander of Cebu threatened to and attempted to disarm the policemen appointed by Acting Mayor Alpuerto.
At that time, police officers were appointed by the mayors and they only have local jurisdictions unlike now that our police are of national character and under the jurisdiction of a Chief of the Philippine National Police.
The Department of Justice made an opinion that then Acting Mayor Pacifico Alpuerto could not validly appoint members of the police force during the suspension of then Mayor Gica.
The appointed policemen of Acting Mayor Alpuerto went to the Court of First Instance (today's equivalent of the Regional Trial Court), filed a petition for declaratory relief with mandatory and prohibitory injunction against the Governor of Cebu (at that time the governor was lawyer Rene Espina), the Provincial Auditor (lawyer Sulpicio Paredes), the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Constabulary and its Provincial Commander in Cebu. The action of the policemen appointed by Alpuerto was to restrain or stop Mayor Gica, the policemen appointed by him, the Philippine Constabulary from disarming and depriving the policemen appointed by Alpuerto led by Jesus Galeos of their positions and from turning over their firearms and badges to the dismissed members of the police force of Dumanjug (the policemen appointed by Mayor Gica were dismissed by Alpuerto as they were replaced by those appointed by him).
On March 15, 1967, then Presiding Judge Mateo Canonoy (became a lawyer on December 27, 1929) of Branch III of the Court of First Instance issued an order restraining or stopping Mayor Gica and others from disarming and depriving Jesus Galeos and the policemen appointed by Vice Mayor Alpuerto and from turning over their firearms to the dismissed members of the police force.
Mayor Gica and his group filed a motion for reconsideration of the order of the court on 10 days after the issuance of the order of Judge Canonoy. On August 3, 1967 Judge Canonoy refused to resolve the reconsideration of Mayor Gica and said that he will only decide after trial on the merits of the case.
Mayor Gica then on September 8, 1967 filed a petition before the Supreme Court and challenged the order of the Court of First Instance. The Supreme Court on September 14, 1967 granted the prayer of Mayor Gica who posted a bond of One Thousand Pesos.
The question before the Supreme Court raised by Mayor Gica became moot as the Presiding Judge of the Court of First Instance already dismissed the action filed by Jesus Galeos and the police officers appointed by Vice Mayor Alpuerto.
The Chief of Police of Dumanjug in 1965 was Filomeno Quirante while the members of the Municipal Council were: Vidal Zozobrado, lawyer Romeo Amadora, Mario Lozada, Leoncio Dalocanog, Ildefonso Albino, Porferio Allego, Domingo Opsima and Teodoro Aldanese Jr.
Mayor Gica succeeded Jose Macoy who was mayor after World War II until 1963. Vice Mayor Alpuerto was represented by a new lawyer then by the name of Valentino L. Legaspi (admitted to the Bar on January 19, 1954). Legaspi rose to prominence when elected as Assemblyman in 1978 (Interim Batasang Pambansa).
- Latest
