Respond to suspended Cebu mayor’s petition, SC tells Ombudsman

Suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama —Nestle Semilla

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) ordered on Tuesday the Office of the Ombudsman to respond to the petition filed by suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama.

The Ombudsman was given 10 days to comment on the petition, SC spokesperson Camille Ting said in a press briefing.

READ: Ombudsman suspends Cebu City mayor, 7 others

“The petition asks the Court to declare as unconstitutional Section 24 of Republic Act No. 6770 or the Ombudsman Act of 1989 and Section O, Rule III of Administrative Order No. 7 or the Rules of Procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman, as amended, as they apply to elective local officials such as Mayor Rama,” she said.

“The petition also asks the Court to vacate the Ombudsman Order placing Mayor Rama under preventive suspension,” Ting added.

Rama and seven other city hall officials have been placed under suspension by the Ombudsman since last May.

In a resolution issued by Ombudsman Samuel Martires, he said that they had seen sufficient grounds to preventively suspend Rama for the complaint of grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a public officer, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest, among others.

The decision stemmed from a case that involved the reassignment of several city hall employees, which resulted in the city government’s failure to pay them their wages for 10 months.