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Monday, August 28, 2006
Interior office told to execute mayor's suspension
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
BAGUIO CITY -- A lawyer said Sunday that Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officials could be charged with dereliction of duty if they would not implement the one-year suspension of Mayor Braulio Yaranon this week.
Emiliano Gayo, one of the lawyers for pay parking firm Jadewell, said the DILG received its copy of the August 22 order from the Office of the President denying the mayor's appeal to the suspension the following day.
"The DILG will have to implement the mayor's suspension immediately because it is spelled out very clearly in the order that they should comply with it right away. If the DILG would not comply, they may be charged for dereliction of duty before the Office of the Ombudsman," he warned.
Gayo said all concerned parties in the case filed by Jadewell know that the suspension meted out on Yaranon "is not preventive, but a penalty."
"They (concerned DILG officials) should know that a motion for reconsideration is not a remedy but only a delaying tactic," he said.
He also said all official acts of Yaranon after he received his copy of the first suspension order last July 4 should be considered null and void.
"Everything he (Yaranon) did since that date, including the issuance of orders, cannot be authorized because the memorandum of (DILG Undersecretary Wencelito) Andanar to defer the mayor's suspension did not bear any authority from Malacañang. This is why we kept on questioning it from the start. Andanar's memorandum may be considered as an authentic document. However, it still has no legal basis because it was merely issued (in the form of) alleged telephone instructions from an unidentified official in Malacañang," said the lawyer.
He added that all appropriations of funds signed by Yaranon since July 4, if released, may also be considered as technical malversation and that others involved may also be charged along with him.
Gayo said charges could also be filed against the City Treasurer's Office if it refuses to heed his letter and proceed to pay Yaranon's salaries and benefits after July 4.
Sun.Star earlier reported that the Office of the President finally resolved the impasse on who should seat as mayor of Baguio last Tuesday, after it denied the motion for reconsideration filed earlier by Yaranon "for lack of merit."
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita directed the DILG "to implement and execute" its decision dated June 26, 2006, which imposed two successive six-month suspensions on Yaranon.
Ermita said the mayor has to be immediately suspended "even pending appeal," pursuant to Section 68 of the Local Government Code. (Sun.Star Baguio/Sunnex)
(August 28, 2006 issue)
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