Mayor Oscar Moreno and his lawyer Dale Mordeno in this 2017 photo. (file photo by froilan gallardo)
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MAYOR Oscar Moreno’s decision to post bail ahead of the anticipated issuances of arrest warrants in connection with his string of graft cases before the Sandiganbayan was a political move that spared him from embarrassment and at the same time, prevented his political enemies from capitalizing on it, said former congressman Erasmo Damasing Jr..

Damasing, a lawyer who also once served as a vice mayor of the city, said an arrest warrant from the Sandiganbayan would not have made any difference because Moreno can always bail out even when he is in the city.

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“Bisag tu-a sa Manila ang Sandiganbayan, mahimo gihapon nga dinhi sa Cagayan de Oro nga korte si Mayor Moreno mag-post sa iyang bail  kay na-a may mga korte dinhi ug  bailable man usab ang iyang kaso,” he said.

But Damasing said what Moreno avoided was the prospects of an arrest warrant being served. That, he said, would have embarrassed the mayor, and it could be used for a fresh political smear campaign.

Another lawyer and former vice mayor Antonio Soriano said even if Moreno finds himself arrested, city hall operations would not be disruspted “especially if the case is bailable.”

Soriano said the worst scenario would be detention but even then, the mayor could still perform his functions even behind bars like what Iligan Mayor Celso Regencia did when he was detained in 2016.

Moreno, for his part, said he posted bail even before the Sandiganbayan could issue arrest warrants so that his political supporters would no longer worry.

“Kay kon dili ka magpiyansa, arestohon ka man,” he said.

Moreno said he was looking forward to defending himself and cross-examining his accuser before the Sandiganbayan.

“I welcome this because it means that the court of law will resolve it, not the court of trolls; the judge would hear me, and I will have a chance to cross-examine the witnesses against me. I will have a chance to examine the documents that will be presented against me. Kay sa didto pa kini nga kaso sa ombudsman, wala man ko maka-explain,” said Moreno. (nitz arancon)

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