Disqualification case vs Cagayan de Oro mayor cites Ombudsman order to remove him

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—One of Mayor Oscar Moreno’s political opponents has filed a disqualification petition against him before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) based on the graft case filed against the mayor at the Office of the Ombudsman.

Former Barangay Taglimao Chair William Guialani asked the Comelec main office in Manila to disqualify Moreno, based on the decision of the Ombudsman on April 10, 2017, which ordered Moreno out of office because of the graft cases against him.

Moreno, however, said it was just a rehash of a similar case filed against him by Guialani in 2016. “This ‘new case’ is certainly headed for the same fate as the 2016 case—the wastebasket,” he said.

The Ombudsman’s ruling stemmed from many graft and other charges brought against Moreno, among them involving the questionable lease of heavy equipment worth millions of pesos without public bidding when he was still governor of Misamis Oriental.

At least 76 cases, including two for plunder, remained pending against Moreno at the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, Supreme Court and Office of the President.