Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo on Monday said the Constitution should be looked into if there is going to be a charter change, specifically on the powers of the Ombudsman to issue dismissal orders to elected public officials that are immediately executory.
The city mayor who is a lawyer by profession believes this power is very unfair especially to duly elected public officials that with one stroke of a pen, he or she can be dismissed outright and on the same orders the next in rank to take the place that will be declared vacant as a result of the dismissal order.
In the case of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo, Remollo acknowledges the fact that politically, the other side would want him dismissed outright not by election but through the administrative case.
However, due process protects the governor and other local officials similarly situated from doing that.
According to Remollo, due process is a very long process from the Ombudsman to the Court of Appeals to the Sandiganbayan up to the Supreme Court, which is the last bulwark of democracy.
Remollo denied insinuations and accusations giving extra credit to him as having a hand in securing the Temporary Restraining Order of Governor Degamo, which was released on Feb.13, which incidentally falls on the mayor’s birthday.
The mayor stressed maybe the Court of Appeals saw the merits of the case in wanting the public educated on this matter.
“It’s a matter of due process, you exhaust all remedies up to the last court until it will become final.”
Remollo cited the disqualification case of Senator Grace Poe who secured a TRO from the high court after the Comelec’s en banc decision that she can’t run.
In the case of Degamo, the CA reverted the ombudsman’s dismissal order due to good faith on the part of the governor, and so the complainant can also run to the Supreme Court, that’s how we look into the case by going into the merits, Remollo pointed out.
Only lately, Mayor Bing Leonardia of Bacolod City also got a TRO because the Ombudsman is not the final arbiter.
The local chief executive said, the law allowing the ombudsman to make their dismissal orders immediately executory should be looked into.
Remollo was hopeful the Supreme Court can clarify the same in the case of Degamo. (JFP/JG)
