Ben Madilynn
MAYORS Michael Rama of Cebu City and Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City, who were both suspended, were dismissed from public service by the Office of the Ombudsman after they were found guilty of serious misconduct.
The orders came out on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, just hours after Rama and his slate filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) before the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office.
Rama, who is seeking reelection, was found guilty of nepotism and grave misconduct for hiring two of his brothers-in-law as city hall employees, while Cortes, who is seeking a fresh seat for his third and last term, was dismissed for allowing an unpermitted cement batching plant to operate.
The dismissal of Cortes is not related to his current one-year suspension without pay for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, which was served on Aug. 21, following his designation of an unqualified officer-in-charge of the City Social Welfare Services Office in 2022.
Rama’s nepotism case
In the 17-page Ombudsman decision, a copy of which was obtained by SunStar Cebu, it said that a penalty of dismissal from service was meted against Rama, including the cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits except for accrued leave credits, and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in government service.
Deputy Ombudsman for Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (Moleo) Jose Balmeo Jr. approved the decision dated Sept. 25, 2024.
The Ombudsman also said that if the penalty of dismissal can no longer be enforced due to the respondent’s separation from the service, “the same shall be converted into a fine equivalent to the respondent’s salary for one year, payable to the Office of the Ombudsman, and may be deductible from the respondent’s accrued leave credits or any receivables from his office.”
In the Ombudsman decision, it said that Rama pointed out in his supplemental counter-affidavit filed on April 12, 2024, that his wife Marilou had many siblings, six of them known to be legitimate, stressing it is “too far-fetched for him to know each and every family member she has, especially when she has a big family. It would be absurd if he was expected to know every single one of them when he does not even know all his relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity.”
The Ombudsman stressed that Rama “cannot conveniently assert ignorance of the appointments of Elmer and Gomer considering that their full names, along with their respective positions and periods of employment, were distinctly indicated in the Plantilla of Casual Appointments. Although the respondent claimed that he was ‘maliciously misled by the HRMO (Human Resource Management Office) to sign the subject appointments of Elmer and Gomer, such mere allegation by the respondent does not suffice as evidence,” adding, “It is hornbook doctrine that mere allegations do not constitute proof.”
The Ombudsman further said: “A scrutiny of the evidence presented, however, reveals the nepotistic nature of the subject appointments. The computer-generated and unsigned CIS forms failed to serve as concrete proof of the respondent’s claim, especially when juxtaposed against the Plantilla of Casual Appointments, an official document signed and certified by (then Officer-In-Charge of the Cebu City Human Resource Development Officer) Atty. (Christine Joymarie) Perias, City Accountant Jerome V. Ornopia, respondent, and CSC (Civil Service) Director Atty. Gina Crucio.”
In a phone interview on Thursday afternoon, Rama declined SunStar Cebu’s request for comment, saying that he has not received any actual copy of the Ombudsman order or read the online versions.
“There is nothing to comment about,” said Rama.
Probable cause
On Sept. 23, Rama’s camp received a resolution from the Ombudsman indicating that the court found probable cause to indict him on three counts of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for nepotism, despite his claim that he was misled into signing the appointment of his in-laws at City Hall.
The Ombudsman earlier said that Rama’s claim of being “surreptitiously made to sign” the plantilla of casual appointments for Elmer and Gomer was “unsubstantiated.”
The resolution noted that the plantilla clearly indicated their full names, position titles, and periods of employment, which demonstrated that their appointments were nepotistic.
Rama’s legal counsel was preparing to file a motion for reconsideration this week.
‘No personal gains’
Rama’s nepotism case was filed by Jonel Saceda, who goes by the name Inday Josa Chiongbian Osmeña on Facebook, before the Ombudsman on January 24, 2023.
Saceda was surprised by the decision and affirmed the Ombudsman’s ruling as a development that “serves as a reminder to all politicians that there are individuals committed to being vigilant custodians of our institutions, and they should never be underestimated.”
Saceda added that there were no personal gains or animosity toward Rama, instead, the situation is prohibited by law, and public office should not be a venue for personal favors or privileges.
“From the very start, many — especially in political circles — belittled the case I filed, some even advising me to ‘study more,’ asserting that it was not strong enough. Despite this, I remained steadfast in pursuing this cause—not for personal gain, but for the people of Cebu, especially for the City Hall employees unjustly retrenched two years ago for political reasons,” Saceda said.
In Saceda’s complaint, it said that Rama has appointed his wife’s brothers, Elmer and Gomer Mandanat. Elmer and Gomer are siblings of Rama’s second wife, Marilou Gimenez Mandanat-Rama, whom he married in a civil wedding ceremony on October 28, 2021.
Based on records of the City’s Human Resource Department Office (HRDO), Elmer was appointed as process server under the Office of the Mayor, while Gomer was appointed as administrative aide under the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC).
Both worked from January 1, 2022, to June 30, 2022. Elmer and Gomer’s contracts were renewed for the period of July 1, 2022, to December 30, 2022, when Rama assumed office as mayor after the May 2022 elections.
In Rama’s defense, after he married Marilou, he instructed that Elmer be appointed to a primarily confidential position under the Office of the Mayor while Gomer would be employed in a position where he was not the appointing officer. At that time, Rama was serving as vice mayor.
However, there was a transitional period for personnel movement following the death of Mayor Edgardo Labella. During this time, Rama signed appointment documents prepared by Perias in “good faith,” believing they complied with laws and regulations.
Rama noted that he faced an influx of appointment documents that were “voluminous,” making it impossible for him to personally verify each appointee’s qualifications. Therefore, he relied on HRMO countersignatures under the assumption they had been “thoroughly vetted.”
On Jan. 24, 2023, after learning about the nepotism complaint during his investigation into being “maliciously misled” by HRMO regarding signing appointment documents contrary to his earlier instructions, Rama discovered Perias was closely associated with former city administrator Floro Casas during Labella’s term.
In December 2022, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 filed criminal and administrative complaints against former and current employees of City Hall — including Casas — over alleged anomalies in garbage collection services during Casas’ tenure.
Rama contended that the nepotism complaint was “maliciously filed against him” following NBI 7’s complaints against Casas.
In August 2021, he requested NBI 7 to conduct an investigation into alleged anomalies in garbage collection services under Casas’ administration.
