Peña won’t step down as acting Makati mayor until SC decision

MANILA, Philippines – Makati Vice Mayor Romulo Peña said on Wednesday, April 8, he would stay on as acting mayor of the city until the Supreme Court (SC) decides on the validity of the suspension order against Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. 

Peña was sworn in as acting mayor on March 16, after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) served the Ombudsman’s suspension order against Binay.

Binay, however, has maintained that he is still the city’s mayor. About two hours after Peña’s oathtaking, the Court of Appeals (CA) issued an order, stopping his suspension for 60 days.

On Monday, the appellate court ruled in favor of Binay and granted his plea for a writ of preliminary injunction, stopping his suspension indefinitely.

Peña, however, said that he would not step down as acting mayor until the High Court decides on the petition filed by the Ombudsman against the CA order.

The SC is set to hold oral arguments on the Ombudsman’s petition on Tuesday, April 14, in Baguio City.

The Ombudsman filed a 36-page petition with the SC on March 26, arguing that the CA committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing the TRO and that the appellate court “gravely undermined” the Ombudsman’s mandate as an independent body.

On March 11, the Ombudsman ordered Binay and other city officials preventively suspended for 6 months in connection with the alleged overpricing of a city hall building.

‘Stop misrepresenting yourself’

City Councilor Marie Alethea Casal Uy on Wednesday said Peña should “stop misrepresenting” himself as acting mayor, given the CA ruling. 

She added: “This is not a case where you choose which court to follow. All of us, especially those in government, should follow the courts.”

The councilor also said Peña’s continued absences in council sessions makes him liable for penalties under the internal rules and procedures of the sanggunian.

Peña, who, as vice mayor, also stands as the council’s presiding officer, has not attended the sessions, citing his new functions as acting mayor.

Under the rules, any member, including the presiding officer, can be fined and sanctioned if he is absent for 3 consecutive sessions. 

Binay to Peña: Resume duties of vice mayor

Meanwhile, Binay urged Peña to resume his duties as vice mayor and immediately sign the payroll of around 150 council personnel who were not able to get their salaries last month.

Peña had refused to sign the payroll for the city’s 17 councilors and around 83 staff members, saying that he could no longer act as vice mayor since he had been sworn in as acting mayor following Binay’s suspension.

The signature of the vice mayor, the presiding officer of the council, is needed for the processing of salaries of councilors and their staff.

“Dapat magtrabaho na. I ask him to sign the payroll para makasuweldo na ang mga taga Office of the Vice Mayor, mga councilor, at staff,” Binay said. (It’s time to work. I ask [Peña] to sign the payroll so the staff of the Office of the Vice Mayor, the city councilors, and their staff can get their salaries.)

Around 8,000 city hall employees received their salaries last month. Binay’s camp said that the documents for the release of the salaries had been signed and prepared in advance.

Last week, Makati councilors said they would provide financial assistance to their office staff while their salaries remain on hold. – Rappler.com