New mayor takes over in Bohol town
Dauis, Bohol Vice Mayor Marie Nickie Bolos-Delgado is the town’s new mayor. (Photo: Marie Nickie Bolos-Delgado Facebook page)
TAGBILARAN CITY — Dauis Vice Mayor Marie Nickie Bolos-Delgado formally assumed office as mayor on Friday after the Department of the Interior and Local Government served the Office of the Ombudsman’s order dismissing Mayor Marietta Tocmo-Sumaylo from government service.
Bolos-Delgado, a lawyer, took her oath before Municipal Circuit Trial Court Judge Raul Barbarona at noon. She ran for vice mayor in the May elections alongside her defeated running mate, former mayor Roman Bullen.
The Ombudsman found Sumaylo guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty for issuing a business permit to the Dauis Cockpit Arena in June 2022 despite the absence of a valid legislative franchise.
The case stemmed from a complaint by Antonio Aranjuez Sumobay, a former town employee, who said cockfights continued at the arena in Barangay Totolan even after its 20-year franchise—granted in 2000 to Peter Emman Mende—had expired.
The franchise was later transferred to other individuals, including Renee Elca Sigue and eventually Wilson Du, although local law prohibited such transfers.
Despite this, Sumaylo issued a permit on June 9, 2022, allowing the Du-owned arena to operate. The cockpit ran without a valid franchise until September 19, 2022, when the Sangguniang Bayan (municipal council) passed a new ordinance. Du was only granted a new franchise in June 2023.
Overreach
The Ombudsman ruled that issuing the permit without an active franchise was irregular and a clear overreach of authority.
Sumaylo argued that the original franchise was still valid and that transfers had long been recognized under Municipal Ordinance No. 09-2000, but investigators noted the ordinance had already been repealed when she issued the permit.
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Her penalty includes dismissal from service, cancellation of civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from holding public office. If enforcement is no longer possible, the penalty will be commuted to a fine equivalent to one year’s salary.
Aside from the administrative case, Sumaylo will also face trial for violating Section 3(j) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019).
Sumaylo, who served three consecutive terms as mayor (2013–2022) before returning to the post in 2025, sought a temporary restraining order on Aug. 11, 2025, but the Court of Appeals’ 19th Division dismissed her petition.
Dauis, a fourth-class municipality, has a population of 53,864./mcm
