Tabor says there’s nothing to restrain because Acenas already took his oath •Moreno’s lawyers assert: DILG never served ombudsman’s order to mayor
By NITZ ARANCON and LITO RULONA
Correspondents
OSCAR Moreno and Caesar Ian Acenas are headed for a collision course this week over the 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) on Friday. Both have stood firm on their positions about who is really Cagayan de Oro’s mayor.
Acenas, installed and recognized by the interior department as the city’s mayor, has been advised by his partymates and lawyers to hold on to the post.
“Unsa pa may iestrain sa korte nga na-serve na man sa DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) ang order sa ombudsman?” asked Tabor, a lawyer by profession.
But Moreno’s lawyers asserted that the issuance of the TRO was proper because the DILG “never served the ombudsman’s dismissal order” to the embattled mayor.
“When an order was not served, of course, the future act of serving it can be restrained,” said lawyer Mateo Delegencia, one of Moreno’s lawyers.
The Gold Star Daily learned that the TRO brought the Padayon Pilipino to an emergency meeting on Friday night as talk about the issuance of a status quo ante order quickly spread. It turned out that the CA issued a 60-day TRO, and not a status quo ante order.
Status quo ante means restoring a prior status sought to be maintained while a TRO is meant to prevent something that may cause damages from being committed.
STANDING FIRM. DILGecognized Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas shows documents to assert his position that he has succeeded Mayor Oscar Moreno. (PHOTO BY LITO RULONA)
Councilor Tabor said he has advised Acenas not to step down, and continue serving as mayor despite the TRO or be charged with dereliction of duty.
He said the appellate court’s TRO has no effect because it was issued after Acenas took his oath as mayor following DILG’s move in serving the dismissal order on Thursday night.
Tabor also said the city council has already officially recognized Acenas as the city’s new mayor.
“Wala man siya gi-orderan nga mokanaug as claimed by the other camp. If the court orders Acenas to step, then that’s the time that we will abide by such lawful order,” he said.
Tabor said neither the DILG ordered Acenas to relinquish his position.
“Basin baya unya sila ang isumbong sa ombudsman o DILG kung magpadali-dali sab sila og hawa,” said Tabor, referring to Acenas and DILGecognized Vice Mayor Lourdes Darimbang.
Over local radio on Saturday, Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Vincente Emano, head of the Padayon Pilipino in the province, said his advice to Acenas was to step down only if the CA issued a status quo ante order but hold on if it was a TRO.
Moreno’s rival in next year’s elections, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of the city’s 2nd District, recognized Acenas as the legal and rightful mayor of the city.
Rodriguez said the TRO does not automatically unseat Acenas as city mayor.
Rodriguez said he read the TRO, and found the situation problematic because the DILG already served Moreno’s dismissal order on Thursday. He said Acenas and Darimbang were also sworn in as mayor and vice mayor, respectively.
“The TRO that was issued by (the) CA is moot and academic. When the DILG served the dismissal order, they had to immediately swear in Acenas and Darimbang because there should be no vacuum in leadership even for a minute,” Rodriguez said.
He added the TRO serves no purpose because there is “nothing to prohibit and enjoin” anymore.
“The TRO is considered legal only if the DILG has not yet implemented the dismissal but the act has already been done,” he said.
Councilor Leon Gan, a lawyer like Tabor, argued that the CA’s TRO only applies to the ombudsman and DILG, and not Acenas.
“Ang DILG man ang nag-install ni Acenas, so ang DILG usab magpakana-og niya. Hangtod nga wala kana nga mando, si Acenas pa gihapon ang mayor ug dili siya dapat mokana-og,” Gan said.
He said Acenas would lead local government employees during the flagaising rites at the city hall grounds today.
“Ang mahitabo ani, kon mag-flag raising usab si Mayor Moreno, duha kabo-ok ang mayor, duha pod ang flag raising nga mahitabo,” he said.
Delegencia, Moreno’s lawyer, said Acenas should step aside, and not force the issue because “wala man ma-serve properly sa DILG ang mando sa ombudsman.”
Delegencia said the DILG’s move in posting the order at city hall’s Legislative Building was “improper,” pointing out that Moreno was just in his office at the Executive Building at that time.
He said Moreno never received an official copy of the order from the DILG.
Delegencia said Moreno cited this in the petition to the CA on Friday, and that was the reason why the appellate court issued a TRO “because the ombudsman’s order was not served.”
Former vice mayor Antonio Soriano, also a lawyer, agreed with Delegencia that the way the DILG “served” the order was “improper.”
Soriano urged Acenas to respect and follow the CA’s TRO by stepping aside.
“Dapat iespito kana ni Acenas ang TRO sa korte, ug mokana-og siya,” Soriano said. (with reports from shiela mae butlig and cong b. corrales)
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