CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and seven other city hall officials have been slapped with six months preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman for a case filed by four employees after they were reassigned to different offices and have not been paid of their salaries for 10 months.
Aside from Rama, other officials included in the suspension order signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires on May 2, 2024 are City Administrator Collin Rosell; City Assessor's Office Officer-in-Charge, Maria Theresa Rosell; Asst. Dept. head for Administration/Legal Office Francis May Jacaban; Asst. Dept. head for Operations Angelique Cabugao; Administrative Division head Jay-Ar Pescante; Assessment of Records Management Division head Lester Joey Beniga; and Computer Division head Nelyn Sanrojo.
In the 10-page resolution, the anti-graft office found sufficient grounds to put the mayor and the seven other officials under preventive suspension for grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of public officer, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, grave abuse of authority (oppression), and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for public officials and employees (administrative case).
“This Office finds sufficient grounds to grant complainants’ prayer for the issuance of an Order for Preventive Suspension against respondents RAMA, C. ROSELL, M. ROSELL, JACABAN, CABUGAO, PESCANTE, BENIGA, and SANROJO, considering that there is strong evidence showing their guilt; the charges against them,” read part of the order.
The case stemmed from a complaint by four regular employees of the City Hall under the City Assessor's Office---Filomena Atuel, Maria Almicar Diongzon, Sybil Ann Ybanez, and Chito Dela Cerna.
Atuel is a tax mapper with Salary Grade 11 with 30 years of service; Diongson a Tax Mapper II with SG 15 and with 35 years of service; while Ybanez and Dela Cerna are Local Assessment Officers with 19 and 16 years of service, respectively.
Rama issued the complainants separate reassignment orders with Atuel transferred to the Anti-mendicancy office (CCAMO), Diongzon at the South Road Properties’ Management Office, Ybanez at the Cebu City Operation Second Chance (CCOSC), and Dela Cerna at the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO).
The complainants received the reassignment orders on June 1, 2023 and received a memorandum ordering them to turn-over to the Administrative Division the soft and hard copies of office documents used in the performance of their duties as tax mappers and LAOO.
On June 16 and 19, 2023, the complainants appealed the re-assignment orders before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Regional Office No. VII (RO7) citing violation of Section 13 (a) (4), Rule IV of the 2017 Revised Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions (ORAOHRA).
The four regular employees claimed that they have been constructively dismissed from the service having been reassigned to a menial task far from their supervisory roles in the Assessor's Office.
While waiting for the response from the CSC, the complainants reported back to their original positions in the Assessor's Office, but have reportedly been subject to discrimination and oppression.
This later led to the four employees writing a letter to the Office of the Ombudsman, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-7, Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF)- 7, and the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), seeking assistance regarding the refusal of the CAO OIC, Rosell along with Cabugao, and Jacaban to reinstate them to their original working stations as Tax Mappers and LAOO.
Rosell and Pescante also reportedly refused to approve the complainants' leave of absence. City Assessor Rosell referred the matter to her husband, City Administrator Collin Rosell, accordingly.
It was also noted that the complainants were also dropped from the payroll and have not received their salaries since returning to their original work assignments in the Assessor’s Office. The complainants then filed another request to CSC August of last year that later saw CSC-7’s director Carlos Evangelista granting the appeal of the complainants and declaring the reassignment orders issued by Rama to be “invalid and without any legal effect.”
The decision also directed Rama to restore the complainants to their original positions as Tax Mappers and LAOO, and “release in [their] favor the unpaid salaries and other benefits pertaining to [them].”
Rama filed separate motions for reconsideration of the decisions of the CSC, which invalidated his reassignment orders in November of last year, but was denied by Evangelista. It was noted that the complainants have not received their salaries since July 2023.They also sought assistance from the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) to expedite the processing and release of their salaries from July 2023 to January 2024, as well as other benefits accorded to the regular employees of the City Assessor's Office.
With this, the complainants have noted that their resources and sustenance for daily living have depleted and their personal savings completely drained. The complainants have also stressed that apart from suffering economic and financial burdens, they are going through emotional and medical anguish due to the oppressive treatment of the respondents.
DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. have already been furnished a copy of the order for its implementation. While being suspended, the said officials will have no pay, “except when the delay in the disposition of the case is due to their fault, negligence or petition, in which case the period of delay shall not be counted in computing the period of preventive suspension.”
In an interview with reporters yesterday, May 8, 2024, Rama, who is currently in Manila, said he doesn’t have an idea yet on the six-month preventive suspension.
“How can I be into preventive suspension if I have not received a copy of any complaint. I don’t even know about it (complaint),” said Rama.
The mayor also expressed his displeasure for not being given a chance to be “heard” over the complaint.
“Why will I be shocked? I need to receive a copy…Lawyers will take care of it. Right now I am working for the city of Cebu, I am in Manila,” said Rama.
In a separate interview, one of the four complainants, Ybañez, told The Freeman that they have only known of the decision through the media. According to Ybañez, since their filing of complaints last February 23, 2024, they have been in constant communication with the Office of the Ombudsman to be updated on the progress of their complaint.
She, however, said that it was last week that they received an update that their complaints were already forwarded to the Central Office.
“Ang amo-a pa ganing reklamo ato kay seven months pa lang to ang sweldo, karon naabot nag ten months,” she said.
Ybañez further admitted that she didn’t expect the decision of the Ombudsman. She also added that she is “worried” for the part of Rama and the others who were only made an “accessory” to their situation.
“Ang uban nadamay lang pud ba,” she told The Freeman.
Although they felt that there had been “justice” for what had happened to them, she also said they are now worried for their welfare.
“Ordinaryo ra baya mi, wala mi mga gwardya, ka feel (worried) ko sa among security actually kung safe pa ba,” said Ybañez.
Last April 16, 2024, Ybañez and three others reached out to the media to air their grievances for not having been paid their ten-month worth of salary at Cebu City Hall. This despite having been favored by CSC-7.
Cebu City Administrator Rosell, said last April 17, 2024 that the unpaid salaries is a matter of meeting the changing working dynamics. According to Rosell, it is regular dynamics that the government services will change that may often lead to reassignments.
“Because as an employee of the government, you are expected to serve the people with utmost diligence and competence,” said Rosell.
All the complainants claim that they have technical positions in the City Assessor’s Office and that their reassignments were not aligned with their expertise.
“If naa man gani changes of administration sa office may unta og di jud damayon ang performance, labi na ang sweldo sa tawo, kay nanarbaho baya na, naay pamilya, mao ta na ang hunahunaon kung kinsa ang head of offices,” said Ybañez. — /ATO (FREEMAN)