THE Office of the Ombudsman has ordered former Cebu City mayor Tomas Osmeña to pay a fine equivalent to one year of his salary when he was still in power.
Cebu City’s Human Resource Division was informed and directed to take appropriate action on the Ombudsman’s Feb. 29, 2024, Joint Resolution in the case of Royina Garma vs. Tomas dela Rama Osmeña.
When asked for a reaction, Osmeña said, “Let my lawyers study this; then I will call a press conference.”
In the joint resolution, the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict Osmeña for obstruction of justice and found him guilty of grave misconduct, meting out a penalty of a one-year suspension.
The Ombudsman stated that if the suspension could no longer be enforced due to separation from service, the penalty shall be converted into a fine equivalent to his basic salary for one year.
In August 2018, the Cebu City Police Office filed charges against Osmeña over the release from detention of three individuals caught selling LPG-filled butane canisters at T. Padilla Public Market.
On Aug. 24, 2018, Parian policemen arrested Ramir Amaca, 33; Romeo Apparece, 42; and Romeo Cuevas, 57, for refilling butane canisters with LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which the Department of Energy has prohibited.
Osmeña arrived at the police station around 10:50 p.m. on the same day and directed the policemen on duty to release Amaca, Apparece and Cuevas into his custody.
The policemen told the former mayor to wait for instructions from the police chief, but Osmeña ordered the three detainees to go home.
In his counter-affidavit, Osmeña admitted going to the police station and telling the vendors to go home, explaining that he was merely responding to a request for assistance from his constituents who reported an illegal arrest.
He further stated that as mayor, he is a deputized representative of the National Police Commission, empowered to order the arrest of a person when justified and to order the release of detainees if warranted.
However, the Ombudsman stated that Osmeña’s act of releasing the three detainees from detention without any court order was highly unprocedural and illegal, establishing probable cause to indict the former mayor for obstruction of justice.
The Ombudsman further stated that despite being told that the detainees could not be released without the station commander’s approval and in the absence of a court order, Osmeña insisted on taking custody of the detainees and telling them to go home, providing substantial evidence to hold him liable for grave misconduct.
The Ombudsman dismissed the charges of oppression, grave abuse of authority, and violation of the code of conduct and ethical standards for government officials and employees for lack of merit. / MVG