City hall heads for another standoff

By LITO RULONA
and NITZ ARANCON
Correspondents

CITY hall is headed for another standoff as Vice Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas prepares for another takeover attempt on the day the 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the appellate court in favor of dismissed Mayor Oscar Moreno ceases to take effect next week.

Unless he secures another court order to stop Acenas from taking over, Moreno could only hold office until next week, said Padayon Pilipino leader and ex-mayor Vicente Emano over the weekend.

He said Acenas would likely assume as mayor on Wednesday next week, Jan. 13.

Emano, who has challenged the reelection bid of Moreno, also revealed that Acenas, his running mate, has filed a petition for a TRO before the Supreme Court in an effort to stop Moreno from extending his stay at city hall.

Moreno was ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman but secured a 60-day TRO from the Court of Appeals (CA) a day after Acenas was sworn in as his successor late last year. The November 2015 legal battle resulted in a five-day standoff at city hall.

Emano said Acenas plans to assume as mayor in the event that the SC issued a restraining order on or before the CA’s 60-day TRO lapses.

“Depende na kini sa decision sa Supreme Court kung ila bang i-TRO ang TRO sa CA,” he said.

Over local radio, Emano went on to assail the CA associate justices’ decision to issue a TRO in favor of Moreno.

“According to some legal luminaries, the TRO that was issued by the CA should not have been issued. Dili angayan nga hilabtan nila apan ila man nga gihukman wala kitay mahimo. How can you stop Ian Acenas from performing his function as the mayor of the city when he was allowed to take his oath by the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government)?” he asked rhetorically.

Moreno was found guilty of gross misconduct as a result of a 2014 tax settlement between city hall and Ajinomoto Philippines without the consent of the city council. The ruling, signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, has been appealed by Moreno and city treasurer Glenn Bañez but the ombudsman has yet to act on their motion for reconsideration at presstime.

Moreno’s lawyer, Bryan Dale Mordeno, said he doubts if Acenas could automatically assume as mayor by Jan. 13 even if the CA does not act on the mayor’s petition for a writ of preliminary injunction.

“If there will be no action on our motion after Jan. 12, we can only speculate that, maybe, the ombudsman would again try to  implement the order of dismissal by instructing the DILG.  Remember, this will all be in writing,” Mordeno said.

He said Acenas could only take over as mayor if the DILG installs him as local chief executive.

Mordeno however said that the mayor is hoping that the appellate court would issue a writ of preliminary injunction before its 60-day TRO expires next Tuesday, Jan. 12.

“Any time from today or tomorrow, we expect an order from CA concerning matters involving the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction,” Mordeno said.

He said the CA might require Moreno, the ombudsman, and the DILG to submit their respective memoranda in relation to the petition for a writ.