By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
ELECTION laws won’t give Mayor Oscar Moreno legal immunity from the dismissal order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman, a ranking official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here said over the weekend.
Lawyer Carlito Ravelo, elections supervisor for Misamis Oriental, said this even as he pointed out that Moreno’s hope would be to secure a writ of preliminary injunction from the Court of Appeals (CA) in order to stop the implementation of the dismissal order issued by the ombudsman last year.
A 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the CA against the implementation of the dismissal order would cease to take effect on Wednesday.
Moreno was ordered dismissed from the service for grave misconduct because of an alleged anomalous tax settlement between city hall and Ajinomoto Philippines without the city council’s consent.
“Dili covered sa election prohibition ang kasong grave misconduct,” Ravelo said.
Unless the CA grants Moreno’s petition for a writ of preliminary injunction, Ravelo said, the mayor could find himself booted out from office before the May elections.
The election period officially started yesterday, and it would last till June 8.
During the period, chiefs of government offices are prohibited from hiring, transferring or suspending their subordinates.
Ravelo said the prohibition applies only to administrative cases, and not those filed with the Office of the Ombudsman.
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