Standoff feared in Caloocan as TRO expires

A member of the legal team of Caloocan Mayor Enrico Echiverri has warned against a standoff should a six-month preventive suspension order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman against him be served Thursday.

Lawyer Melanie Soriano-Malaya told the Inquirer in a phone interview that the mayor’s supporters “would not allow” him to step down should a Caloocan court deny Echiverri’s petition to extend a 72-hour temporary restraining order (TRO), which will lapse Thursday.

The TRO issued on Monday by Executive Judge Eleanor Kwong of the Caloocan Regional Trial Court prevented the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) from implementing the suspension order against Echiverri, city treasurer Evelina Garma, budget officer Jesusa Garcia and city accountant Edna Centeno.

The four stand accused by Vice Mayor Edgar Erice of not remitting more than P340 million worth of contributions made by city hall employees to the Government Service Insurance System.

His complaint was filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in July.

Earlier, the DILG said that it would serve the suspension order against the four city officials once the 72-hour TRO lapses Thursday.

“I don’t think the people of Caloocan will allow [the suspension order to be implemented],” Malaya, also head of the city’s business processing and licensing office, told the Inquirer.

According to her, the mayor’s supporters are “hard core” and loyal. This was evident in the number of individuals who turned up at city hall on Monday when the DILG was supposed to serve the suspension order on the four officials. The police estimated the number of people who showed up to express their support for Echiverri at around 200.

“You saw how it was [then]. These were people who went [there] on their own,” Malaya said.