Suspended Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama. (PNA file photo)
CEBU CITY – The Court of Appeals in Manila on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by suspended Mayor Michael Rama and seven other Cebu City Hall officials questioning the suspension order issued against them by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a resolution issued on May 17, 2024, the Appellate Court thumbed down the petition of Rama and the seven other City Hall employees for failure to cite meritorious grounds as to why they did not pursue other legal remedies before filing the petition for certiorari.
The petition assailed the order of the Office of the Ombudsman placing Rama, his city administrator lawyer Colin Rossel, Rosell’s wife former City Assessor Maria Theresa Rosell, lawyer Francis May Jacaba, Angelique Cabugao, Jay-Ar Pescante, Lester Joey Beniga, and Nelyn Sanrojo under preventive suspension for six months.
The Court resolved to dismiss outright the petition with a prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and injunction, as the petitioners failed to file a motion for reconsideration at the Office of the Ombudsman.
“A motion for reconsideration is a condition precedent to the filing of a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, as amended,” the order read.
"Although there is an exception to the rule, the petitioner failed to allege meritorious grounds as to why it was not availed of before filing the instant petition."
Rama and the other petitioners also failed to attach the original transaction receipts from a private courier as proof of the mailing of their petition.
The case stemmed from the complaint of four Cebu City Hall employees – Filomena Atuel, Maria Almicar Diongzon, Sybil Ann Ybañez, and Chito dela Cerna – for allegedly withholding their salaries for 10 months. (PNA)
