MANDAUE City Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede has vowed to continue the ongoing projects of the City Government once the one-year suspension order is implemented for Mayor Jonas Cortes.
Cortes was ordered suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for one year without pay for grave misconduct after he designated an officer-in-charge of the City Social Welfare Services Office (CSWSO) in 2022, which was deemed unlawful.
But Bercede expressed concerns over the suspension of Cortes, saying that the severity of the misconduct charges typically warrants a lighter penalty compared to graft and corruption cases, which often result in shorter suspensions.
He told reporters on Thursday, Aug. 22, that the one-year suspension was unprecedented for Mandaue City and hinted at possible hidden motives behind the decision.
“Duda gyud ko nga naay nagpaluyo, kay ngano man nang mga trolls nila nga confident man kaayo nga masuspenso ang mayor, unsa ra god ng mga tawo sa ubos,” Bercede said, as he implied that external forces may be influencing the situation.
Bercede noted that speculations about the mayor’s suspension had circulated for years, and the recent developments have confirmed those long-standing rumors.
“As for me, I stand with Jonas Cortes,” he said firmly.
Cortes has yet to receive the order.
Bercede, meanwhile, said that all scheduled activities for the City’s 55th Charter Anniversary, including the groundbreaking of the new P3 billion government center, will proceed as planned.
Michael Bandal, regional legal officer of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, told SunStar Cebu that as of Aug. 22, they had not received a copy of the suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas nor any directives from higher offices.
‘Excessive’
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post dated Aug. 22, 2024, Gerry Carillo, a legal practitioner and former Cebu City councilor, questioned the length of the suspension.
Carillo said that while the integrity of individuals overseeing social welfare programs is vital, a year-long suspension seems excessive, especially given the complexities of local governance.
“Is it really worth that long for a qualification issue? While I do appreciate that Mayor Jonas might be exploring all legal remedies available to him, I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more beneath the surface,” he said in his post.
No comment
Mandaue City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan, in an Aug. 21 press conference, was asked whether the suspension had any political motivations, but he declined to comment.
“No comment lang ko ana di lang ko mo comment no, kay anything is possible, but of course, we believe in our legal system,” he said.
The Ombudsman’s decision said that while the penalty for grave misconduct is dismissal from the service even on the first offense, it noted that there was neither an allegation nor was it found that the irregular designation of the OIC was attended with elements of corruption.