MANDAUE City Mayor Jonas Cortes said he already anticipated the Office of the Ombudsman’s suspension order and was ready for it.
He, however, did not expect that the suspension would last for one year since it was not a corruption case.
He described the Ombudsman order as “excessive.”
“Wala kani nag pa kuan (nagpatandog) nako, of course, expected na ni daan og gipangandaman na ni nako, wala sad ko nahadlok kay dili ni corruption nga kaso, walay kwarta na involve ani (I am not worried, of course, it was expected and I had already prepared for it, I am not afraid because it is not a corruption case, there is no money involved),” the mayor said on Friday, Aug. 23.
He was suspended for one year without pay for grave misconduct after his designated officer-in-charge (OIC) of the City Social Welfare Services Office (CSWSO) in 2022 was not qualified.
Cortes has yet to receive the suspension order.
He reiterated that the designation of CSWSO OIC was temporary, adding that it was necessary due to the sudden resignation of the department head.
The mayor said he is planning to file a motion for reconsideration in response to the Ombudsman’s decision by next week, as confirmed by City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan through a text message to SunStar.
In the motion, Cortes and his legal team will argue that the suspension is not supported by the facts, the law, or the evidence, and they will seek either a reduction of the suspension or its complete reversal.
He stressed that the designation of Camilo Basaca Jr. as OIC was a necessary action to fill an urgent need to fill a leadership gap within the department.
“It was not an appointment in the usual sense. The designation was clearly an OIC, made to ensure the department continued to function smoothly,” Cortes said in Cebuano.
He also pointed out that a former Mandaue City mayor had also faced a similar situation for appointing an individual to a position requiring higher qualifications, despite the appointee lacking the necessary professional credentials, but the case was then dismissed.
When asked if he believed that politics was behind the suspension, Cortes refrained from making direct accusations but acknowledged the timing as curious.
Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede earlier said that he would continue the projects of the City Government once the suspension is already enforced, while the role of acting vice mayor will fall to the first councilor, Nerissa Corazon Soon-Ruiz.
Cortes, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to his constituents for supporting him.
He can still run in the upcoming election because the suspension is not related to disqualification.