CAGAYAN de Oro City fire marshal Benigno Amomonpon sought for a temporary retraining order (TRO) from a local court to stop his transfer to Misamis Occidental province.
Earlier, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Regional Director Eleuterio Iturriaga ordered his transfer to Misamis Occidental as the new provincial chief.
A preliminary hearing on his request for a TRO was conducted Friday at the Cagayan de Oro Regional Trial Court branch 18.
In Friday’s hearing, the court requested both Amomonpon and Iturriaga to present necessary documents on Friday next week and ordered for a “status quo” at the BFP in the city.
Amomonpon declined to talk to reporters after the hearing upon the advice of his lawyer.
Meanwhile, a turnover ceremony was held Friday at the BFP in Cagayan de Oro but Amomonpon failed to attend. He earlier said he would boycott the turnover.
Amomonpon refused to honor Iturriaga’s revamp order at the BFP, saying the latter just wanted to throw him out of the city after the administrative cases Iturriaga filed against him were dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao.
Amomonpon said the revamp order was “too personal.”
Interviewed after the ceremony on Friday, Iturriaga denied the allegation and reiterated his call for Amomonpon to follow his transfer order. “He put some stain on the image of the organization,” he said.
Iturriaga said Amomonpon’s transfer was a recommendation of the regional selection board of the BFP. (Loui S. Maliza)