Duterte urged: Suspend Tom, wife Margot

CEBU, Philippines — Apas Barangay Captain Ramil Ayuman is asking the Office of the President (OP) to render its decision on the preventive suspension he is asking against Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and City Councilor Margarita “Margot” Osmeña for allegedly reopening the Inayawan landfill illegally.

Ayuman filed last Friday an urgent motion to resolve the motion and prayer for the immediate preventive suspension against the couple.

Complaints for grave misconduct, abuse of authority, culpable violation of the Constitution, and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees against the Osmeñas is pending with the OP.

Margot said that she will answer Ayuman’s allegations once she gets a copy of the village chief’s complaint.

The FREEMAN tried but failed to get the mayor’s comment as of press time.

Ayuman said that an immediate preventive suspension will “prevent respondents from using their high positions, powers and prerogatives of their office to hide, destroy or tamper records and evidence in the possession of the Cebu City Government which may be vital in the prosecution of the case against them.

He added there is a need to resolve the case he filed nine months ago and that he had forwarded pieces of evidence that the two city officials illegally reopened the landfill that has been shut down by the Court of Appeals for 11 months already.

“Noteworthy is the fact that despite the public outcry due to the unbearable odor emitted from the landfill…the flies, mosquitoes and other insects became abundant in the area when it was re-opened,” his complaint read.

Ayuman added that his complaint was supported by an inspection result from the Department of Health-7 which recommended the immediate closure due to non-compliance of sanitary requirements and the report of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for its environmental violations.

The environmental violations reportedly include the failure to secure discharge permit if it conform with the standard of EMB-7; failure to strictly enforce the use of Personal Protective Equipment for workers; failure to sustain a good parameter fence and prevent illegal entry or squatting persons in the area; failure to implement strict measures on disposal of hazardous or hospital waste in the area and failure to provide cover for all garbage trucks to prevent blowing or flying filter around.

Other violations are the city’s failure to put soil covering for each waste after spreading, failure to strictly prohibit the scavenging of waste materials inside the site, failure to efficiently operate the leachate plant and landfill glass flaring system, failure to provide Environmental Guarantee Fund, failure to present the Operation Manual, failure to show reports of monitoring for biological and chemical parameters, failure to conduct monitoring for biological and chemical parameters, and air and water verbal complaints were noted which is sufficient cause for suspension or revocation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate.

“Preventive suspension may be imposed at any time after the issues are joined, that is, after respondent has answered the complaint, when the evidence of guilt is strong and, given the gravity of the offense, there is a great probability that the continuance in the office of the respondent could influence the witnesses or pose a threat to the safety and integrity of the records and other evidence,” Ayuman’s motion reads, citing Section 3, Rule 6 of Administrative Order No. 23 Series of 1992.

Ayuman lodged the complaint last Feb. 14 before the OP against the two officials for reopening the landfill last June 28, 2016.

Margot was among the respondent for the controversial landfill was reopened during the time that she was the acting mayor. —/GAN (FREEMAN)