CA backs Binay, orders gov’t to respect TRO

Makati City Mayor Erwin Jejomar “Junjun” Binay Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

The Court of Appeals (CA) yesterday issued an extended stay order for an indefinite period against the preventive suspension meted out by the Office of the Ombudsman to Makati City Mayor Erwin Jejomar “Junjun” Binay Jr. who is being investigated for corruption over the alleged overpricing of Makati City Hall Building II.

In a resolution written by Justice Jose Reyes Jr., the appellate court’s Sixth Division said it decided to issue the writ of preliminary injunction “following an assiduous inspection of available data and guided by jurisprudential guideposts.”

The court said it was “enjoining” the Office of the Ombudsman, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and their agents and/or representatives from enforcing the Ombudsman’s March 10 order preventively suspending Binay for six months.

The court also ordered the respondents “to preserve and respect the status quo before the issuance of the [Ombudsman’s preventive suspension] order.”

Binay, in turn was directed to post a P500,000 bond as a condition for the effectivity of the writ. The bond “shall answer for whatever damages which may be sustained by reason of the preliminary injunction in the event that it is finally decided that the petitioner is not entitled thereto.”

Other division members, Justices Francisco Acosta and Eduardo Peralta Jr., concurred in the ruling.

The writ of preliminary injunction will stop the enforcement of Binay’s suspension during the pendency of the certiorari case he filed in the court on March 12. The writ thus extends the 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the court on March 26.

Mayor happy

With the Court of Appeals granting Binay’s writ of preliminary injunction, the mayor’s camp said they were very happy with the latest development.

READ: Junjun Binay’s camp heaves sigh of relief over CA order

Binay’s lawyer Claro Certeza said that his client was glad that the appellate court believed in his arguments in stopping the enforcement of his suspension.

“He can now focus on his duties in serving the residents of Makati,” said Certeza, who noted that the intervention of the DILG and Vice Mayor Romulo “Kid” Peña Jr., who claims to be the acting mayor after Binay’s suspension, had created confusion among the people of Makati.

The Office of the Ombudsman and the DILG refused to recognize the TRO, saying it was moot because the Ombudsman’s order had been served hours before and Peña had been sworn in as acting mayor on March 16.

Two in charge

Binay and Peña both claim that they are in charge of Makati, with the former holding office on the 21st floor of City Hall and the latter staying at the old City Hall building nearby.

READ: ‘Acting’ mayor’s office is small stinking room

Asked for comment on the CA decision, Peña said that he will have to confide first with his lawyers.

“I have not received any news about it but we will be awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter,” Peña added, noting that he will only step down if the high court asks him to.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales went to the Supreme Court on March 25 to assail the appellate court’s TRO on the suspension of Binay. She cited the Ombudsman’s independence and underscored the importance of enforcing Binay’s six-month suspension while he was being investigated for the alleged overprice in the construction of Makati City Hall Building II.

READ: Ombudsman asks SC to nullify CA TRO on Binay suspension

Despite the appellate court’s decision putting on hold its suspension order against Binay, the Office of the Ombudsman is not about to give up the fight.

In a statement issued Monday night, the antigraft body said it would bring the matter to the Supreme Court “as the final arbiter” of legal issues.