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CA voids Gwen’s suspension
The Freeman
|June 18, 2026
In an 18-page decision promulgated on May 18, 2026, the CA’s 14th Division granted Garcia’s petition for certiorari and prohibition and nullified the April 23, 2025 preventive suspension order issued by then Ombudsman Samuel Martires.
The decision was penned by Associate Justice Marietta S. Brawner-Cualing, with Associate Justices Gabriel T. Robeniol and Maximo M. De Leon concurring.
The appellate court found that the Ombudsman improperly imposed the suspension during the 2025 election period without first obtaining approval from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Garcia had challenged the Ombudsman’s order placing her under preventive suspension without pay for a maximum period of six months while she faced administrative charges of grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, serious dishonesty, gross negligence, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, and violation of Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The administrative complaint was filed by Moises Deiparine and stemmed from Garcia’s issuance of Special Permit No. 2024-09 to Shalom Enterprises on May 14, 2024 for the desilting of the Mananga River during the El Niño-induced water shortage that affected Metro Cebu and neighboring municipalities.
This story is from the June 18, 2026 edition of The Freeman.
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