Cebu City Hall employees after the 1967 elections

After the local elections held on November 14, 1967, a new administration took over in the City of Cebu. Senator Sergio Chiong Veloso Osmeña Jr. had won as city mayor and Engr. Eulogio Enriquez Borres as vice mayor. Serging Osmeña did not assume office and so Vice Mayor Borres became acting city mayor.

Atty. Carlos J. Cuizon was defeated by Osmeña and on January 1 to 5, 1968, the new administration sent uniformly worded letters to selected employees informing them of their termination and for them to secure the necessary clearances on any money or property accountability.

The employees terminated were Benito Sanoy, Norma Lo Rufin, Luisa M. Malazarte, Francisco Kiamko, Alberto Mariveles, Mauro Enolpe, Renerio dela Cerna, Raymundo Bayno, Domingo Caminade, Jr., Emiliano Bacalso, Simeon Dablo, Josefa Sabellano, Martin Viterbo, and Proserfina Masayon. The mentioned employees asked for a reconsideration of the termination order of the mayor.

But this was denied and the terminated employees protested their removal to the Commissioner of Civil Service by means of letters sent in February 1968. The Commissioner referred the letters of protest to the city mayor for comment but was never acted upon. In April of the same year, the employees sent a letter to the city auditor and city treasurer of Cebu to ask to withhold the payment of the salaries to those who had been appointed as their replacements. The terminated employees protested that those who replaced them were not eligible to work.

Since no action had been made by the Commissioner of Civil Service on their protests, they went to the Court on October 2, 1968.

They filed a petition for mandamus against Mayor Borres, the City Council, city treasurer and city auditor claiming that their dismissal was summary, done without investigation and was in violation of the Civil Service Law and Regulations and they should be reinstated.

When the case was set for trial and the petitioners-employees were ready to present their evidence on August 13, 1969, Judge Francisco S. Tantuico, Jr., the Presiding Judge of Branch VI of the Court of First Instance of Cebu issued an order dismissing the petition for mandamus for non exhaustion of administrative remedies.

The aggrieved employees went to the Supreme Court as they believed that the judge was wrong for dismissing their petition for mandamus. The Supreme Court on April 30, 1973 through Justice Makalintal ruled that it was wrong for the judge to dismiss the legal action of the employees on the ground of non exhaustion of administrative.

The Supreme Court explained in its ruling that the employees had substantially complied with the rule of exhaustion of administrative remedies before going to the court. They filed their protests with Commissioner of the Civil Service against their dismissal by the city mayor. The Supreme Court then ordered that the case be remanded to be thrown back to the Court of First Instance for trial on the merits.

The terminated city hall employees were represented by Atty. Fernando S. Ruiz (of Sogod, Cebu and was admitted to the Bar on April 4, 1949), while the city government was represented by City Attorney Nazario R. Pacquiao (admitted to the Bar on December 16, 1940) and Assistant City Attorney Celerino F. Jomuad (of Ginatilan, Cebu and admitted to the Bar on May 2, 1947).

In the elections in 1967, it was when Benigno S. Aquino won as senator under the Liberal Party placing first with Jose Roy of the Nacionalista Party placing second and Magnolia Antonino in third place.

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