DILG names Rommel Acuña as acting Marikina City mayor

MANILA, Philippines —  The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has appointed  Sangguniang Panlungsod member Rommel Acuna to assume the post of acting mayor of Marikina City after the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension of Mayor Marcelino Teodoro and other city officials. 

In a directive on Wednesday, DILG chief Jonvic Remulla “enjoined” Acuña to perform his duties as acting mayor to “prevent paralysis in government operations.”

“You (Acuña) are hereby directed to assume as Acting Mayor of Marikina City, as the highest ranking Sangguniang Panlungsod Member, to fill the temporary vacancy in the said position caused by the six-month preventive suspension imposed by the Office of the Ombudsman against the appointive and elective officials of Marikina City,” the document reads. 

“Among the officials preventively suspended are the Mayor, Vice-Mayor, and 13 Sangguniang Panlungsod Members. You are therefore enjoined to immediately perform the duties and functions of the Mayor in order to prevent paralysis in government operations,” it adds. 

The DILG earlier recognized the suspension order issued to Teodoro and other city officials in connection with the alleged misallocation of P130 million in Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds.

In response, Teodoro branded the order issued against him as “a broader effort to derail” his candidacy in the upcoming elections and a “desperate attempt to besmirch” his name. 

“I strongly believe that the preventive suspension issued against me is politically motivated and part of a broader effort to derail my candidacy in the May 12, 2025, midterm election. I am a casualty of political persecution, plain and simple,” the mayor said in a statement on Tuesday.  

“In a desperate attempt to besmirch my name, they’ve filed numerous trumped-up charges against me before the Ombudsman, COA (Commission on Audit), Comelec (Commission on Elections, Civil Service, and other government agencies,” he added. 

INQUIRER.net sought the reaction of Teodoro’s camp regarding the DILG’s directive but it ha yet to reply as of posting time.