Ombudsman dismisses Puerto Princesa mayor anew

MANILA, Philippines — Puerto Princesa City mayor Lucilo Bayron is facing dismissal for the second time as the Office of the Ombudsman has set aside its previous ruling ordering his reinstatement.

In an 11-page resolution penned by assistant ombudsman Jennifer Jardin-Manalili, approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales on July 11, the anti-graft body ruled to grant the motion for reconsideration filed by complainant Aldrin Madreo.

It was in December last year when the ombudsman ordered Bayron's dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification from holding public office for administrative offenses of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct.

The dismissal order stemmed from Bayron's hiring of his son Karl as project manager of Bantay Puerto-VIP Security Task Force with a monthly salary of P16,000 covering a six-month period from July to December 2013, allegedly without disclosing their filial relationship in the contract.

But in a succeeding ruling issued on June 23, the ombudsman downgraded the offense to simple dishonesty carrying a penalty of just three-month suspension. This paved way for Bayron's reinstatement four months after Luis Marcaida III served as the acting mayor.

In its new ruling, the ombudsman sided with Madreo's argument that it has already lost jurisdiction over the case after Bayron “abandoned” his motion for reconsideration on the original dismissal order and instead elevated the matter before the Court of Appeals in February of this year, through a petition for review and application for the issuance of a temporary restraining order.

“In light of the following facts and events and consonant with the rules on appeal, this Office finds that it had lost jurisdiction over the administrative case against respondent Lucilo [Bayron] upon the abandonment of his motion for reconsideration before this Office and the perfection on 02 February 2017 of his appeal with the CA,” the new ombudsman ruling read.

The CA Special Seventh Division denied Bayron's application for temporary restraining order on June 8 while his petition for review seeking the nullification of the ombudsman first dismissal order is still awaiting resolution by the appellate court.

The ombudsman is expected to forward the ruling to the Department of Interior and Local Government for implementation.