MANILA, Philippines?Rodriguez (Rizal) Mayor Pedro Cuerpo has filed an appeal in Malacañang seeking to overturn the latest suspension order against him, on the heels of a previous 60-day preventive suspension order that lapsed Friday.

?I wrote the Office of the President requesting that they reverse this administrative suspension,? Cuerpo said.

?This is harassment. I was voted into office. I was chosen by the people of Montalban, but the Rizal provincial government is paying no heed to it,? he said.

The mayor said he will lead a protest Monday at the town plaza with hundreds of his supporters ?to show everyone that I have the support of the people.?

He said he had no intention of trying to force his way back into the town hall and would take only the legal course of action against his suspension.

The suspension order arose from an old administrative case filed last year against Cuerpo for the construction of the Slope Stabilization and Central Transport Terminal Project in Barangay San Rafael.

Complainants Emma Bahandi, Rizalina Arceo and John Earl Din had accused Cuerpo with ?gross neglect of duty, dereliction of duty, misconduct in office, unlawful behavior, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service? for pushing through with the project reportedly without environmental permits.

The mayor?s actions allegedly resulted in the death of a bulldozer operator, as well as diseases acquired by several children in the area because of dust and smoke from the site.

In a resolution, the provincial board of Rizal said it decided to penalize Cuerpo with a two-month suspension, based on the Local Government Code provision concerning elective officials slapped with administrative cases.

Cuerpo?s previous suspension, that lapsed Friday, involved a graft case filed by evicted town residents against him and two other officials on charges of grave abuse of authority and grave misconduct for allegedly demolishing the houses of 93 families on a property in Barangay Burgos in 2002.