CA gives nod on dismissal of admin raps vs Igbaras mayor, upholds suspension of 2 town execs
The Court of Appeals (CA) rendered a Decision upholding the earlier dismissal of the administrative raps against an Iloilo Mayor.
Mayor Jaime Esmeralda
As such, it is good news for Igbaras Mayor Jaime Esmeralda however it was to be a different story for two other town executives who stood as the mayor's co-respondents in a case filed by the People's Graftwatch of Iloilo.
In a ten-page Decision obtained by The News Today (TNT), CA Associate Justice Vicente Yap moved to dismiss the Administrative Complaint against said Igbaras Mayor with said Decision concurred by Executive Justice Arsenio Magpale and Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas Jr.
The same Decision also carried the lifting of an earlier Writ of Preliminary Injunction thereby ordering the serving of the remaining period of the six-month preventive suspension imposed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Cynthia Cabanero and Pio Elumba, both of the Igbaras Municipal Government.
The People's Graftwatch of Iloilo lodged the complaint against the trio relative to the supposed mishandling of the P1 million funding from the Office of Senator Franklin Drilon. The complaint stemmed from the privilege speech of Councilor Vicente Escorpion during the August 23, 2004 session.
Documents against the respondent town officials included affidavits of a number of municipal employees, barangay officials and town residents.
To recall, the Office of the Ombudsman in its Final Evaluation Report recommended the upgrading of the complaint into a criminal case for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The case dragged on with the eventual reelection of Esmeralda that ultimately led the CA to a decision that he should not anymore be held administratively liable for the anomalous acts allegedly committed prior to his reelection.
"However, his criminal liability still subsists," excerpts of the Decision stated with Mayor Esmeralda's preventive suspension 'cancelled'.
However on the preventive suspension of the two other town executives, the CA found merit on the order saying it believed that the Ombudsman correctly suspended Cabanero and Elumba.
"On the issue raised by petitioners Cabanero and Elumba that since the preventive suspension imposed on petitioner Esmeralda has been lifted, theirs should likewise be lifted. This argument is specious. They have to bear in mind that their liabilities are different and distinct from those of petitioner Esmeralda and they do not hold an elective position," the Decision further went.
Appeal after appeal were submitted by the respondents that now led to the CA Decision confirming the dismissal of the Administrative Case against the mayor and order for the serving of the preventive suspension of the two other co-respondents.
The criminal aspect of the case continues and awaits resolution to date.