Ombudsman suspends Iligan’s detained mayor

By Frank Dosdos Jr.,
Nora Sorino
and Sita Asequia
of GSD-Iligan Bureau

ILIGAN City–Detained Mayor Celso Regencia has been suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for one month for signing an agreement with a company without authority from the city council, the city’s vice mayor confirmed yesterday.

Regencia reportedly received the ombudsman’s decision on the administrative case filed against him. The case pertained to an act that was made during Regecia’s first office term as mayor.

The interior department office here said it has yet to receive an official copy of the ombudsman’s order.

Regencia has not contested the order.

Vice Mayor Jemar Vera Cruz is now serving as acting mayor while Regencia is serving his 30 day suspension.

Charged in court and detained in connection with the 2014 ambush of the group of former congressman Vicente Belmonte near the airport in Misamis Oriental, Regencia has been running city hall while in detention.

Vera Cruz said Regencia was suspended for signing an agreement with the contractor of the Hinaplanon Pumping Station of the Iligan City Waterworks System (ICWS) without authority from the city council.

It was an “honest mistake,” he said.

Meanwhile, jailers, police officers and soldiers proved no match to a blockade put up by supporters of Regencia of the City Jail here on Tuesday.

The lawmen were reportedly on a mission to “extricate and transfer” the Regencia from the City Jail to a prison facility in Taguig City as ordered by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 77 of Quezon City.

Several attempts have been made in the past to serve the court order but Regencia’s supporters prevailed.

Regencia stands accused of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder for allegedly masterminding the Dec. 11, 2014 ambush of Belmonte’s group. Three of the then lawmaker’s bodyguards were killed and several others were wounded.