Appeals court halts mayor’s dismissal

The Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered the Office of the Ombudsman “to cease and desist” from enforcing its decision to remove from his post Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro of San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan, because of an administrative case for “oppression” filed by a former local official.

In a four-page resolution dated April 26 and released Thursday, the court’s Second Division granted San Pedro a temporary restraining order (TRO) valid for 60 days, but required him to pay a P200,000 bond for the order to become effective.

The resolution written by division chair Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla stated that “considering that [San Pedro] was meted the supreme penalty of dismissal from service [it is] reasonably necessary to protect [his] legal rights pending resolution of the extant appeal,”  and prevent any “irremediable” damage that may result from the Ombudsman’s March 7 ruling.

Division members Justices Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Socorro Inting concurred in the ruling. Jerome Aning