Ombuds dismisses 3rd complaint vs Raymond

Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, along with other officials, has been cleared of another complaint filed by a coterminous employee of former Mayor Michael Rama for lack of merit.

- Iris Hazel Mascardo

This is the third complaint filed against Garcia that has been dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman - Visayas.

The case was filed by Vicente Esmeña and Tefiolo Rosaroso Jr. against Garcia, Leocadio Trovela, Regional Director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government; Cebu City Administrator Kristine Joy Batucan; and Henry Tomalabcad, Head of the Department of Human Resource and Development (HRDO).

“Mao lagi na ang ila man gung stance nga ni usurp kuno ko,” said Garcia.

Last year, Garcia ascended to the mayorship when his former ally, Rama, was found guilty of nepotism and met with dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification.

Rama and his camp, however, declared that he has yet to receive a copy of this decision, so his mayoralty still stands.

This led the former employees, Esmeña and Rosaroso, whose employment was coterminous with Rama, to file administrative charges against Garcia for their alleged "unduly removal" from their respective posts when Garcia assumed office.