Newly sworn-in Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia stated on October 9 that he needs to discontinue the “Singapore-like Cebu Metropolis” imaginative and prescient of Mayor Michael Rama. | CDN Picture/ Pia Piquero
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia is unbothered by dismissed Mayor Michael Rama’s camp questioning his assumption as mayor, saying they’ve the best to take action, however they have to observe the authorized course of.
“In the event that they need to query it, that’s superb with me. It’s their proper, however they must observe the correct course of and undergo the courts. The court docket will determine every little thing,” Garcia stated in an interview on October 18.
He identified that the Ombudsman’s order was already served, and the Division of Inside and Native Authorities (DILG) had confirmed the validity of his assumption.
“I don’t know the way they’ll query it as a result of the Ombudsman’s order was correctly served, and the DILG has already made their assertion,” he added.
READ: Raymond Garcia’s takeover as mayor ‘invalid’, says Rama’s lawyer
Nonetheless, on the identical day, one in all Rama’s authorized counsels, Lawyer Collin Rosell, stated in a press convention that Garcia’s assumption as mayor is “positively not legitimate.”
READ: Raymond Alvin Garcia is formally Mayor of Cebu Metropolis
Rosell defined that the Ombudsman has not but served an official copy of the order disqualifying Rama from his place.
“Wala pa ma-serbi, klaro nangita pa og ebidensya. Ang Ombudsman Visayas nga maoy mo-implementar wala silay kopya sa order,” Rosell stated throughout the press convention.
Garcia took his oath as mayor of Cebu Metropolis on October 9, 2024, after an order from the Ombudsman completely disqualified Mayor Michael Rama. The order, dated September 9, 2024, discovered Rama responsible of nepotism and grave misconduct for hiring two of his spouse’s brothers as informal workers at Metropolis Corridor.
The Ombudsman’s ruling led to Rama’s removing from workplace, the lack of his eligibility, forfeiture of retirement advantages, and a everlasting ban from holding any authorities place.
Rama and his authorized group are contesting the choice. They stated that the Ombudsman’s order had not been formally served to them.
Rama’s authorized group has since filed a movement for reconsideration, arguing that the choice was signed by the Deputy Ombudsman, not the Ombudsman himself. They imagine this makes the ruling invalid as a result of the regulation requires the Ombudsman to signal choices involving high-ranking officers like mayors.
Rama’s camp additionally filed a petition with the Supreme Court docket on October 7, 2024, searching for to cease the Fee on Elections from disqualifying him from working within the 2025 mayoral election. /clorenciana
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