Weaponizing an absurd interpretation of nepotism
If according to a Chinese proverb a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, I like to imagine that to understand the perceived political misfortune of “dismissed” Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama begins with a little understanding of the word nepotism. This article is not a brief for the defense of the beleaguered mayor for his case is handledby high strung attorneys but this is an attempt to gain a deeper insight into the topic as if we were in school enjoying academic freedom.
This early, I need to state that I am a retired teacher. I taught law, mainly constitutional law, for about forty years. In all humility, I claim that one of the most profound benefits of a teaching career is the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of students, particularly and the society, generally.
Every time that nepotism came up in the course of study, I would begin talkingto my class about it in its ultra-idealistic concept. The law on nepotism is found in Section 59, Chapter 8, Title I, Book V of the Executive Order No 292, series of 1987 otherwise known as the Revised Administrative Code of 1987. It was then President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino who promulgated it.According to this law, “all appointments in the national, provincial, city and municipal governments or in any branch or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlledcorporations, made in favor of a relative of the appointing or recommending authority or of the chief of the bureau or office head of office, or of the persons exercising immediate supervision over him, are hereby prohibited.”
The Supreme Court emphasized in the 2019 case of Bagaoisan vs Ombudsman that under the foregoing definition, one is guilty of nepotism if an appointment is issued in favor of a relative within the third civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of any of the following: (a) appointing authority; (b) recommending authority; (c) chief of the bureau or office; and (d) person exercising immediate supervision over the appointee. In this context, it is the appointing authority who brings into the service his relative. Differently stated, the relative was an outsider, so to speak and was not connected with the office before until the appointment was made by the authority. It is the appointment signed by the authority that makes the relative an employee.
I believe that there is no nepotistic act committed by an “appointing authority or recommending authority or of the chief of the bureau or office head of office, or of the persons exercising immediate supervision over him” when his relative was already working in the office at the time he was conferred with such authority. He was not responsible in having his relative employed in the first instance. I refer here to the time of employment. Let us exemplify. Suppose Mr. A, got employed in the City Hall during the time of Mayor X, say in 2019. Mr. A might be found fit and qualified for the job after examining his application papers. When Mayor Y succeeds Mayor X as the city’s new chief executive in 2022, will he be guilty of nepotism if he signs a paper to let Mr. A continue working in the City Hall?
Answering the above question in the affirmative results in a more administratively absurd, legally grotesque and socially inhuman situation. How absurd can it be that it was LEGALLY RIGHT for Mayor X to appoint Mr. A to a City Hall post and yet LEGALLY WRONG for Mayor Y, the successor mayor, to continue his employment! It is grotesque for Mayor Y to DISCONTINUE Mr. A as a City Hall employeesimply because he, the new mayor, is a relative. The legal norm of consanguinity or affinity asbasis of nepotism cannot and must not be wielded to deprive someone of his livelihood. It is manifestly unjust for an authority to kick someone out of service because they are related.
We all owe it to ourselves as Cebuanos toexert efforts to verify if this short theoretical exposition fits the facts of Mayor Michael Rama’s case and then render opinion on the rumor that he is harassedbecause that is the best way to beat him in the 2025 elections.
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