‘Dismissed’ CDO Mayor Threatens to Sue New City Executive

Cagayan De Oro City (PNA) –- Embattled City Mayor Oscar Moreno on Tuesday threatened to sue the newly sworn in City Mayor Caesar Ian Acenas of “usurpation of authority.”

Acenas was sworn into office Thursday last week as the new City Mayor after the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the “dismissal order” from service against City Mayor Oscar Moreno.

An infuriated Moreno issued the statement after Acenas prevented one of the City Executive’s coasters to leave the premises of the City Hall compound without an official “trip ticket.”

On Friday last week, Acenas ordered all vehicles and properties of the city government grounded at the City Hall ground pending inventory.

Acenas also formed a “transition committee” to make sure that all transactions and human resources of the city government return to normal and that the basic services are not jeopardized.

Moreno decried the actions of Acenas as illegal and unauthorized as he maintained that he (Moreno) remains the lawful Mayor of Cagayan De Oro City.

The Court of Appeals granted Moreno a 60-day Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) directing the Office of the Ombudsman to reply on Moreno’s Motion for Reconsideration.

“Until the Office of the Ombudsman renders a decision on my Motion for Reconsideration (MR), I am still the lawful Mayor of Cagayan De Oro City since the dismissal order is not final and executory,” Moreno said.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales approved the dismissal of Moreno on October 6, 2015 for Grave Misconduct for entering into a settlement agreement with Ajinomoto Philippines without prior authorization from the Sangguniang Panlungsod in violation of Republic Act 7160 (The Local Government Code).

Under the Ajinomoto agreement, the firm paid only PHP 300,000 business tax out of the PHP 2.9 million business tax that the firm was supposed to pay to the city government.

The order of dismissal also penalized Moreno and City Treasurer Glenn Banez with perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of all retirement benefits.

The lawyers of Acenas scoffed on Moreno’s TRO arguing that the restraining order has become moot and academic because the order dismissing Moreno was already served. (PNA) LAP/CD