Mandaue Metropolis Mayor Jonas Cortes. | Photograph from the Fb of Jonas Cortes
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – Mandaue Metropolis Mayor Jonas Cortes is at the moment coordinating along with his attorneys to hunt reconsideration of the Ombudsman’s resolution to put him below suspension for a 12 months for grave misconduct.
Atty. Jamal James Calipayan, the Mandaue Metropolis Administrator, mentioned that Cortes was ready to exhaust all obtainable authorized treatments to enchantment his suspension.
“We are going to exhaust all authorized treatments, to siguro kung mahimo nga ma-reverse ang resolution or to make a reconsideration of the choice. Really, mayor has an exterior authorized counsel nag-handle ani nga case. We spoke concerning that and can discover all authorized treatments,” Calipayan mentioned in a press convention on Wednesday.
READ: Mayor Cortes not alarmed of rumored preventive suspension
Calipayan confronted the Cebu media to reply queries on Cortes’ suspension for the reason that mayor was busy attending to a different concern.
Throughout the interview, Calipayan mentioned that the suspension didn’t come as a shock for Cortes. Nonetheless it saddened him.
In earlier interviews, Cortes mentioned that he was anticipating a potential suspension due to the threats and the assorted circumstances that have been lodged towards him.
READ: Mayor Cortes downplays prices filed towards him for mangrove reducing
However the good factor is that not one of the complaints towards Cortes concerned graft and corruption, a sign that he didn’t misuse authorities funds, Calipayan mentioned.
Calipayan mentioned that he suggested the mayor to proceed to carry workplace till such time that he receives an implementation order that can specify when the suspension will take impact.
Grave misconduct
The Workplace of the Ombudsman suspended Cortes for one 12 months, with out pay, for grave misconduct conduct after he allegedly made an unlawful appointment at Metropolis Corridor.
READ: Lahug resident asks OP to probe Cortes, 4 others for ‘land grabbing’
The choice stemmed from the executive case that Sereno Gabayan Monsanto, Rosimay Cali Caling, and Annibel Dela Cerna Andebor filed towards Cortes and Metropolis Social Welfare and Companies (CSWS) head Camilo Basaca Jr. The order was signed by signed by Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer Napoleon Regan Malimas.
All the three complainants accused the mayor of illegally designating Basaca because the officer-in-charge of CSWS.
They insisted that Basaca lacked the eligibility and qualification to go the workplace, a violation of part 483 of Republic Act 7160 in any other case referred to as Native Authorities Code.
As well as, the complainants alleged that Cortes intentionally refused to nominate a certified officer as a result of he has not opened the place even when it had been vacant for nearly a 12 months.
Furthermore, they claimed that the issues that they raised on August 2022 on the choice of beneficiaries for town’s launch of monetary help was not attended to.
Basaca was designated because the CSWS head on July 2022 and was at the moment changed by Atty. Mitzi Abadia. He now occupies the place of CSWS assistant head.
Nevertheless, the grievance filed towards Basaca was dismissed by the Ombudsman for inadequate proof.
In its resolution dated August 12, 2024, the Ombudsman mentioned that the penalty for grave misconduct is dismissal from service even on the primary offense. Nevertheless, it mentioned that there was “neither allegation nor was it discovered that the irregular designation of Basaca was attended with parts of corruption.”
Not commensurate
In accordance with Calipayan, Mayor Cortes is but to personally obtain a replica of the Ombudsman’s order that was acquired on the Workplace of the Mayor on Wednesday morning.
For Calipayan, the suspension order was unfair.
“Sa ako lang opinion, murag dili gyud siya commensurate as a result of kani man gud siya nga motion gud, this was already completed by the earlier administration, and there was no penalty from the Workplace of the Ombudsman. Similar details. This was completed by [the] Mayor in good religion as a result of he believed nga kani nga particular person [nga iyang gi-appoint] may assist out within the workplace. Makita man unhappy nato nga environment friendly kaayo ang CSWS. It was not likely to [the] detriment of the service or of the constituents,” he added.
Calipayan mentioned that Cortes was very unhappy when he realized about his suspension.
“He was very unhappy of what occurred as a result of para namo Mayor Jonas was there as a result of he was trusted by the constituents of Mandaue. It’s extra of him being disadvantaged of the factor that he loves most to do and that’s to serve the Mandauehanons. There was no problem on corruption. It’s simply that ang pag-designate lang gyud, that’s what I wish to level out,” mentioned Calipayan.
Untimely
Additionally on Wednesday, the Mayor’s Workplace acquired a replica of the order from the Workplace of the Visayas Ombudsman on the dismissal of a grievance that was filed by Maria Priscilla Melendres towards Cortes and 4 metropolis councilors for being “untimely.”
Melendres filed a prison grievance towards Cortes and Councilors Maline Cortes-Zafra, Oscar Del Castillo, Jennifer Del Mar, and Cynthia Remedio in reference to the 9.5 hectares of privately owned land town allegedly distributed to casual settlers.
The opposite circumstances that Melendres filed towards Cortes and Calipayan and Metropolis Catastrophe Threat Discount Administration Workplace Head Buddy Alain Ybañez have been remanded to the Division of Atmosphere and Pure Sources Workplace for additional investigation.
The grievance was in connection to the alleged reducing of mangroves in Brgy. Paknaan in November 2022, the realm that Melendres claims to personal.
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