Seares: What does Comelec chairman Garcia mean by ‘executing immediately’ the decision that fires Rama and Cortes as Cebu mayors? Poll body won’t wait, maybe not even for process at Ombudsman to wrap up.

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CEBU. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Comelec Chairman George Garcia and Mandaue City Jonas Cortes.
CEBU. Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, Comelec Chairman George Garcia and Mandaue City Jonas Cortes.SunStar photos
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[] To Comelec Chairman Garcia, the Ombudsman decision is executory even if it’s not yet final.

[] Ombudsman rules of procedure, however, allow Mayors Mike and Jonas 10 days from receipt of the decision to file a motion for reconsideration or reinvestigation. And under the law, the said mayors may appeal to the Supreme Court by filing a petition for certiorari within 10 days from receipt of the denial of their motion.

[] Comelec’s “immediate execution” -- without even waiting for Ombudsman action on the motion for recon, let alone for CA’s review SC’s action on the certiorari petition -- would nullify their right to run, as their names wouldn’t be in the ballot or the votes in their favor would be invalid.

STUBBORN QUESTIONS. Following the news Thursday, October 3, 2024, that the Ombudsman penalized Cebu City Mayor Michael “Mike” Rama and Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes with dismissal from government service, which includes perpetual disqualification from public office, the stubborn, if not nagging, questions were:

[1] When will Comelec execute the decision that disqualifies Rama and Cortes from the May 2025 elections?

[2] Were the COCs filed by Rama void or invalid?

One local news media outlet answered the first question with at least three stories that quoted Comelec Chairman George Garcia who said: “We shall immediately implement.” “We will not wait for a final judgment.”

Another news media outlet raised the second question, which was already answered a week earlier by Comelec chief Garcia in connection with the case of Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. Garcia’s answer then, which should’ve put it to rest, and the answer now, which only reaffirms Comelec policy and principle: Comelec has “no choice,” its duty to accept COCs is “ministerial,” and its “discretion will come later on.” Meaning, it may cancel or invalidate a sanctioned elective official’s COC after accepting it.

WHEN IS ‘IMMEDIATELY’? Chairman Garcia didn’t tell, or was not asked, to specify when Comelec, separately or in one resolution, will cancel Rama’s and Cortes’s COCs. Not the particular day but the sequencing, in relation to the remedy still available for the two mayors at the Ombudsman.

Rama was ordered dismissed on September 25 for nepotism in the appointment of two brothers-in-law at City Hall. Cortes was ordered dismissed on October 2 for illegally allowing continuous operation of a concrete cement mix batching plant.

Specifying “immediate” implementation matters, since Comelec thinks it has the discretion on what to do with Rama’s and Cortes’s COCs after the poll body accepts them. The discretion, Chairman Garcia said, comes later. But when later?

To be sure, it must be after receipt of the Ombudsman decision imposing the penalty. It’s not like the Comelec will officially act on the basis of news media reports of the decision. It has to wait for the official Ombudsman notice of the dismissal.

But will it be after the mayors have at least exhausted the remedy at the Ombudsman? Comelec won’t wait for the process at Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. But even if they are vindicated there, they may have already been screwed at the Comelec.

WHETHER COMELEC RESPECTS MAYORS’ RIGHT TO FILE MOTION FOR RECON. Under the Ombudsman rules of procedure, Mayors Rama and Cortes each have the right to file a motion for reconsideration or reinvestigation within 10 days from receipt of the Ombudsman order or decision dismissing them from government service. If the motion is rejected, the mayors may appeal to Court of Appeals in a petition for review within 15 days from receipt of the decision denying the motion for reconsideration or reinvestigation.

Under Republic Act 6770, all orders, directives or decisions in administrative cases of the Office of the Ombudsman may be appealed to the Supreme Court by filing a petition for certiorari within 10 days of the written notice of the order or decision or denial of the motion.

HIGH PRICE. If the Comelec won’t wait for at least the process at the Ombudsman -- acting on the motion for reconsideration or reinvestigation before it’s considered a wrap -- the price Rama and Cortes have to pay will be high: exclusion from the ballot or invalidation of votes cast in their favor. The public wouldn’t know if they were elected or rejected, as there would be no election for them.

It may come down to this question: Must the penalty be imposed even before the process of final conviction is completed? The different rule for administrative cases, involving the right to get elected, can be the explanation. Some things cannot wait. As the Comelec chairman puts it, “we cannot wait.”

It may also be seen as a case of the judiciary providing to Mayors Rama and Cortes the remedies granted by law -- and some implementers of the law nullifying or rendering those rights meaningless.

The mayors might not be just part of Cebu’s political history. They’d be history.

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