Capitol faces crisis similar to city hall’s

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

MISAMIS Oriental is facing the prospects of a political crisis similar to what has been happening in city hall since 2015, lawyer and former vice mayor Antonio Soriano said over the weekend.

Soriano said this in the wake of reports that Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano and his brother-in-law, ex-councilor President Elipe, have been slapped with charges similar to what Mayor Oscar Moreno has been trying to legally fight off since 2015.

Shortly before the 2016 elections, Moreno nearly lost his seat to his then vice mayor, Ian Acenas, who attempted to assume as mayor based on a decision of the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss and perpetually disqualify him from public office as a result of a graft case.

Last month, a similar case nearly cost Moreno the mayoral post after the interior department served a dismissal and disqualification order against him.

In both cases, the Court of Appeals intervened, allowing Moreno to continue serving as mayor while the cases are on appeal.

Soriano said the same thing could happen at the capitol, noting that the administrative aspect of the complaint against Emano and Elipe was also for grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming and violation of the code of ethical standards for public officials and employees.

The worst thing that could happen, according to Soriano, is if the ombudsman issues an “extreme” decision — meaning, dismissal and perpetual disqualification — against Emano the way it did to Moreno.

He said Emano would likely end up defending himself exactly the way Moreno has been doing — assail the ombudsman’s decision and elevate it to the Court of Appeals to seek a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction in the event of a dismissal and disqualification order.

“Pareho ra gyud ang proseso niana kon found guilty si Gov. Emano sa maong kaso,” he said.

Soriano said a political standoff similar to what happened at city hall when the then vice mayor Acenas attempted a takeover would be unlikely if Vice Gov. Jose Mari Pelaez would remain as Emano’s political ally.

The cases, one administrative and another criminal, were filed by one Ernesto Molina of Barangay 35, this city.

A copy of the 12-page document secured by this paper last week showed that the complaint was received by the ombudsman’s office at 4:55 pm on Sept. 29, 2017.

Molina has asked the ombudsman to bring the criminal case to the Sandiganbayan, and to slap the two with preventive suspension orders.

In the criminal complaint, Molina accused the governor and his brother-in-law of unlawful  appointment, nepotism, and malversation of public funds.

In the administrative complaint, Emano and Elipe were charged with grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and/or violation sa  RA 6713 or the code of conduct and ethical standards for public officials and employees.

Molina, in his complaint, questioned the 2016 appointment of Elipe as general manager of the Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Complex less than a year after he lost in the race for seats in the provincial board.

He said it was a case of nepotism given that Elipe is the husband of the governor’s sister Nadya, a city councilor.

Molina said nepotism is a “grave offense punishable with dismissal” from the government service.

He said the Local Government Code also provides that “no person shall be appointed in the local government career if he/she is related with in the fourth civil degree of consanguity or affinity to the appointing or recommending authority.”

Emano strongly denied the accusations made by Molina in a 13-page counter-affidavit he submitted to the ombudsman, calling the complaint  “false, baseless and politically motivated.” The governor asked the ombudsman to dismiss the complaint for “lack of merit.”

First, according to Emano, he cannot be held liable for nepotism because it was not he who appointed Elipe as general manager but the board of directors of the Misamis Oriental Integrated Sports Council.

Emano, however, is the chairman of the sports council’s board.

“Mr. Elipe was elected to the said position  by the council without my  nomination, without my recommendation, and without my vote,” reads part of Emano’s counter-affidavit.

He said, “I cannot be held administratively liable as the nomination and election of Mr. Elipe to the position of general manager of the sports center, a private institution, is not covered by the prohibition on nepotism.”

Emano also argued that the sports center is a “private entity” and therefore, the position of general manager is not covered by civil service regulations.

“[The] Sports Center is a private  entity which has been operating as such since 1976,” Emano said.

The facility is jointly owned by the Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro governments, and the Department of Education. The land is owned by the provincial and city governments while the facilities were built by the education department.

The appointment, according to Molina, was also a violation of the constitutional provision that provides that losing candidates cannot be appointed to any public office within a one-year period right after the election.

Molina said what aggravated things was an ombudsman’s decision on another case for grave misconduct and gross dishonesty against Elipe.

He said the ombudsman slapped Elipe with a penalty of perpetual disqualification  to hold public office in connection with an earlier case filed by the now retired city administrator Gionnie Gersana.

Gersana’s case against Elipe was on the alleged falsification of daily time records in favor of Elipe’s sister who served in his staff when he was a city councilor.

The Elipe case is on appeal. The former councilor has questioned the ombudsman’s decision before the appellate court.