Antique town mayor’s suspension voided

MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has voided the suspension imposed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Mayor Ernesto Tajanlangit III of Tobias Fornier in Antique in connection with the distribution of food packs.

In a ruling promulgated on Dec. 18, the CA’s 14th Division said the ombudsman committed grave abuse of discretion when it suspended Tajanlangit.

Earlier, the CA issued a 60-day temporary restraining order against the implementation of Tajanlangit’s suspension, which stemmed from a complaint filed by Vice Mayor Jose Marie Fornier.

In his complaint, Fornier said Tajanlangit punched him during a spat over the delivery of food packs provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Fornier said Tajanlangit prevented the delivery of the food packs.

In September, the ombudsman suspended Tajanlangit for six months pending results of an investigation into Fornier’s allegations.

Tajanlangit appealed the ombudsman’s ruling, saying Fornier planned to distribute the food packs according to the vice mayor’s own list of barangays.

The CA said it was baffling that Tajanlangit’s complaint, which was filed ahead of Fornier’s, was ignored by the ombudsman.

It said the ombudsman should have jointly assessed the complaints and pieces of evidence filed by both parties.

The appellate court said that under the guidelines of the ombudsman, any complaint received should be checked to see if it is a subject of any existing similar complaint.