Echiverri partisans rejoice over court order stopping suspension

MANILA, Philippines—The five-day vigil of the supporters of Caloocan Mayor Recom Echiverri ended as a victory party on Friday after the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the Ombudsman’s suspension order.

“(This TRO) only means there is no space for lies, defamation, and opportunism here in Caloocan…. I am telling you this mayor will not go down without a fight,” Echiverri said at  a press conference attended by other city government and barangay officials.

The 14th division of the appellate court issued the TRO effective for 60 days, saying the suspension of the public officials involved “will undeservedly deprive the citizens of Caloocan of the services they are entitled to.”

The suspension order issued on June 18  stemmed from a complaint lodged by Vice Mayor Edgar Erice at  the Office of the Ombudsman on July 7 against Echiverri and three other officials for allegedly not remitting contributions of  city hall employees to the Government Service Insurance System.

Acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro acted on the complaint by ordering a six-month preventive suspension of the mayor.

Hundreds of the mayor’s supporters attended a Mass  in front of the city hall Friday and held a program highlighting Echiverri’s supposed accomplishments.

Some wore the yellow shirts—the campaign color of the mayor—while others carried placards asking Erice to resign.

But  while Echiverri’s camp was in a celebratory mood buoyed by loud campaign jingles repeatedly playing at the city hall grounds, Erice said there was nothing to rejoice about.

“This TRO is wrong. The CA prevented the Ombudsman from doing its job, that is to investigate the wrongdoings of government officials,” Erice said in a phone interview.

He said that the possibility of irreparable damage during the suspension period was far since every city government has a “rule of succession.”

“Those aggrieved here are the employees who for six years had not received dividends or processed application for loans and other benefits,” he said.

GSIS records show that the total debts of Caloocan City as of December 31, 2010 amounted to P343,814,739.85 representing principal and interest for the unpaid compulsory premiums dating back to previous administrations.

Erice said he resorted to filing a complaint after Echiverri and three others allegedly did nothing for six months about his letter urging them to settle the city’s obligation to GSIS.

Echiverri, however, claimed recently that based on the reconciliation of records, the city government made an overpayment to GSIS of P6 million. On Tuesday, he was also blaming former mayor Rey Malonzo for the unpaid premiums.

A team tasked to reconcile records has submitted the necessary documents to prove that the GSIS was overpaid, the mayor said.

Erice, however, asked: “Why it took several years for Echiverri to learn about the supposed overpayment when the employees were not getting what was due to them for at least six years now? As a mayor, should he file a case against GSIS?”

He said even if the city government pays the debt in full to GSIS now, Echiverri is still liable to his constituents.

Meanwhile, Echiverri said he was preparing to file a charge of malicious prosecution against Erice.

“I apologize to the people of Caloocan for endorsing Erice as my running mate in the last elections. I’ve come to a realization that I have helped a person who was not even fit to become a barangay tanod,” Echiverri said.