13 Iligan council members suspended

ILIGAN CITY—The local lawmaking body here will practically stop to function for more than a month as 13 of its 15 members, including the vice mayor, start serving their suspension for simple misconduct.

In an order issued last month, the Office of the Ombudsman suspended Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz and 12 councilors over a case filed by former Iligan Rep. Vicente Belmonte Jr. and former Vice Mayor Ruderic Marzo questioning the council’s move to authorize Mayor Celso Regencia to sign appointments and other documents in 2014 while the mayor was in prison.

Regencia was jailed that year after he surrendered to authorities over allegations he had masterminded Belmonte’s ambush. The Department of Justice  later cleared the mayor, paving his return to City Hall. —DIVINA SUSON