Ombudsman dismisses 3rd complaint vs Raymond

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, along with other officials, has been cleared of another complaint filed by a coterminous employee of former Mayor Michael Rama for lack of merit.

This is the third complaint filed against Garcia that has been dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman - Visayas.

The case was filed by Vicente Esmeña and Tefiolo Rosaroso Jr. against Garcia, Leocadio Trovela, Regional Director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government; Cebu City Administrator Kristine Joy Batucan; and Henry Tomalabcad, Head of the Department of Human Resource and Development (HRDO).

“Mao lagi na ang ila man gung stance nga ni usurp kuno ko,” said Garcia.

Last year, Garcia ascended to the mayorship when his former ally, Rama, was found guilty of nepotism and met with dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification.

Rama and his camp, however, declared that he has yet to receive a copy of this decision, so his mayoralty still stands.

This led the former employees, Esmeña and Rosaroso, whose employment was coterminous with Rama, to file administrative charges against Garcia for their alleged “unduly removal” from their respective posts when Garcia assumed office.

“One thing is to file, the other is to prove in court, the court where there is actual jurisdiction,” said Garcia.

The Ombudsman’s decision notes that the complainants claimed that the termination of their employment was illegal and lacked both factual and legal basis. They also pointed out that the decision was not properly served to Rama, which would have made it immediately executory.

In the same decision, the Office of the Ombudsman also reiterated and upheld the provisions outlined in Republic Act No. 6770, otherwise known as The Ombudsman Act of 1989, which mandates that they not only act promptly on complaints but also enforce the administrative, civil, and criminal liabilities of government officers and employees.

On the same date, March 4, 2025, another ruling from the Office of the Ombudsman was signed and released. This time, a case was filed “anonymously” against Garcia, which stemmed from his assumption of the mayoralty post, allegedly despite not serving the dismissal and disqualification against Rama.

An excerpt from the Ombudsman’s decision reads that the complaint “failed” to submit the necessary documents to back the allegations, particularly regarding the disclosure of the earlier decision to unauthorized parties.

“The basic rule is that mere allegation is not evidence and is not equivalent to proof. Charges based on mere suspicion and speculation likewise cannot be given credence. When the complainant relies on mere conjectures and suppositions, and fails to substantiate his allegations, the complaint must be dismissed for lack of merit,” reads the Ombudsman’s decision.

Earlier, in a three-page decision of the Office of the Ombudsman, signed by Corazon C. Arnado-Carillo, Garcia and the same officials were also cleared of the criminal and administrative charges filed by Homer Cabaral after he was allegedly unduly removed from his position as an Executive Assistant.

Cabaral’s complaint was prompted when former Mayor Michael Rama, the official with whom he held a coterminous status, was dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman after being found guilty of nepotism.

Cabaral claimed that the termination of his employment was illegal and lacked factual or legal basis. He also argued that the Ombudsman had no authority to dismiss mayors of highly urbanized cities.

Similarly, he argued that the decision was not served to Rama, preventing it from becoming immediately executory.

The decision dismisses the case due to a lack of “palpable merit.” The three decisions released by the Office of the Ombudsman were signed by Corazon C. Arnado-Carrillo. — (FREEMAN)