Court of Appeals reverses solon’s dismissal over Iligan City lease deal

Iligan City Rep. Frederick Siao (Photo from the official website of the House of Representatives at www.congress.gov.ph)

Rep. Frederick Siao can continue serving as congressman of Iligan City, after the Court of Appeals (CA) reversed the Ombudsman’s June 13, 2016, order dismissing him over an anomalous land lease he helped pass as a city councilor in March 2013.

In a 27-page decision, the appeals court ruled the Ombudsman “no longer had any disciplinary authority” over Siao because of his proclamation as a House of Representatives member on May 10, 2016.

Members of Congress, like impeachable officials and members of the judiciary, were exempted from the disciplinary coverage of the Ombudsman Act of 1989.

The appeals court also said the condonation doctrine was still applicable to Siao’s case. This meant his alleged offense was deemed to have been forgiven by the electorate when he was reelected councilor in 2013.

Although the doctrine was abandoned by the Supreme Court in its 2015 ruling in the case of dismissed Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., it could still be applied in Siao’s case since the complaint was filed before the Ombudsman in 2014.

Also spared from dismissal because of the doctrine were Siao’s fellow councilors Ruderic Marzo, Providencio Abrangan Jr., Riza Jane Magaro, Jose Zalsos, Marlene Young, Michelle Sweet-Booc, and Roy Openiano.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Ruben Reynaldo G. Roxas, and concurred in by Associate Justices Tita Marilyn Payoyo-Villordon and Walter S. Ong.