Rama’s son sues DILG-7 director before Ombudsman

CEBU, Philippines — A complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman has been filed against Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-7 Regional Director Leocadio Trovela, allegedly for grave misconduct and dishonesty.

The complaint is in relation to the installation of then Vice Mayor Raymond Garcia as full-fledged Cebu City mayor last Oct. 8, which former mayor Michael Rama, who insists that he remains as Cebu City mayor, has questioned.

Atty. Mikel Rama, Rama’s eldest son, filed the complaint against Trovela for “grave misconduct, dishonesty, other frauds under Article 214 in relation to Article 318 of the Revised Penal Code, Refusal to discharge elective office under article 234 of the Revised Penal code, and Abandonment of Office of the Revised Penal Code”.

“His propensity to make untruthful statements of facts, intentionally calculated to deceive the public that he has already verified the implementation of the Subject Decision when none was made, connotes a glaring propensity to mislead the public, cause serious prejudice to the government and the delivery of basic services, and shows a deliberate violation of a standard of behavior that translates to a clear-cut administrative liability on part of Respondent Trovela,” he stated in his complaint.

Mikel argued that his father was supposed to come back on Nov. 6, 2024 after serving a six-month preventive suspension imposed by the Office of the Ombudsman last May.

He alleged that on Oct. 9, 2024, Trovela, “without authority, much less legal basis, to do so, officiated the oath taking ceremony of Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin N. Garcia...purportedly as Mayor of the City of Cebu, to the prejudice of the public and deception of the electorate.”

The oath taking came after the Ombudsman found Rama guilty of nepotism last Sept. 25 for hiring his two brothers-in-law in City Hall from January to December 2022 and ordered him dismissed from service and perpetually disqualified from holding any public office.

Mikel, though, argued that the Ombudsman has not directed the DILG to immediately implement any decision to dismiss againist his father.

Mikel also took exception of Trovela saying, “Wala na talagang hadlang. Siya na talaga ang dapat mag-assume. Hindi na siya acting mayor this time."

He likewise mentioned Trovela being quoted as saying that as far as the DILG is concerned it has served the Ombudsman order “regardless of the legal remedies that Rama is undertaking.”

Rama’s camp sought the DILG Central Office for clarification but was told that it was “unable to accede to your request as this Department is not privy to the implementation of the said decision.”

“Indeed, there is nothing in the decision, copies of which I found circulated in social media, indicating that the DILG was already ordered by the Ombudsman to implement the decision,” Mikel said.

The DILG, however, had already clarified that the Ombudsman may implement its decision on its own without ordering the DILG to do so.

Mikel, though, argued in his complaint that despite the lack of order from the Ombudsman to implement its decision, Trovela declared the position of City Mayor of Cebu “vacant” and “illegally administered the oath of Garcia”.

“Previous case law instructs that a memorandum from the DILG serves as a writ of execution to implement the Ombudsman’s decisions.'Such memorandum, in turn, can only lie as a matter of course if the Ombudsman clearly directs the DILG to immediately implement such decision,” Mikel said in his complaint.

He also cited the case of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia wherein the Ombudsman clearly ordered the DILG to implement the dismissal order of the persons concerned and to submit a compliance within 10 from receipt of the decision.

As for Rama’s case, Mikel said the circulated "Order of Implementation" only directed the Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, not the DILG, to implement the Decision.

Trovela, Mikel alleged, did not state in his memorandum that he has already been ordered by the Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas to implement any decision against Rama.

“His role was merely to verify the implementation of any decision from the Ombudsman concerning Mayor Rama - something which he even failed to do until now,” Mikel alleged.

He likewise claimed that copy of the Office of the Ombudsman decision that the Cebu City Human Resource Development Office received on  Oct. 3, 2024 and transmitted to Rama and his legal counsel on Oct. 5, 2024, was “factually false.”

“What was provided to the legal counsel was merely a plain photocopy of the purported Decision, which does not constitute the formal implementation of the Ombudsman's Decision,” Mikel said in his complaint.

“Trovela's claim that a permanent vacancy in the Office of the Mayor arose ‘by operation of law’ is a clear misrepresentation, as no valid implementation of the Decision occurred,” he said.

Mikel also accused Trovela that he “intentionally falsified these material facts to falsely convey an appearance of compliance with Section 44 of the Local Government Code of 1991 and relevant jurisprudence”.

Hence, Mikel claimed, Trovela committed the administrative offenses of grave misconduct and dishonesty.

The Freeman tried to get Trovela’s side but to no avail. — (FREEMAN)