Ombudsman suspends Teodoro for six months

MANILA, Philippines — Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and other city officials have been suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for six months.

Also suspended were Vice Mayor Marion Andres and 12 city councilors.

In a statement last night, Teodoro said the suspension is meant to derail his candidacy as representative of the city’s first congressional district in the midterm elections on May 12.

“I am a casualty of political persecution, plain and simple,” he said.

Teodoro criticized his political opponents for the “trumped up” charges filed against him before the ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections and other government agencies.

Teodoro, who is on his last term as Marikina mayor, questioned the timing of the suspension, which was issued days before the start of the campaign period for local candidates on March 28.

“It’s hard not to see this as a calculated political attack meant to damage my candidacy and shake the trust we have built with our constituents,” he said.

Teodoro did not go into details on the ombudsman’s basis for suspending him.

A businessman recently filed graft and administrative charges against the mayor over alleged irregularities in the procurement of office and school supplies from 2020 to 2021.