Ombudsman suspends Toledo City mayor Osmeña

August 29, 2017

Mayor John Henry Osmeña of Toledo City, Cebu was ordered suspended from office for one year after the Ombudsman found him guilty of grave abuse of authority, the Ombudsman said in a statement on Tuesday.

He is also set to face trial before the Sandiganbayan after the Ombudsman found probable cause to charge him with six counts of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).

The Ombudsman directed the Department of the Interior and Local Government to implement the suspension order.

At core of the controversy is Osmeña’s consistent refusal to release the quarterly real property tax  shares of Barangay Daanlungsod in Cebu, the Ombudsman said.

Records showed that the barangay was supposed to receive a total of P17,733,264.80 as part of its RPT share for the period covering the last two quarters of 2014 and for the fiscal year of 2015.

In his counter-affidavit, Osmena claimed there is a pending boundary dispute between BarangaysSangi and Daanlungsod and that there is an ongoing case entitled “Barangay Sangi versus City of Toledo” pending before the Court of Appeals.

Osmena said “it is his duty to protect government funds and properties.  Thus when his attention was called on a pending case regarding ownership of the real properties involved in the boundary dispute between the two barangays, he only thought of protecting the city’s public funds.”

In a resolution approved on August 9 2017, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales gave no credence to the defenses raised by Osmeña and stated "the boundary dispute between the two barangays had long been settled.”

A decision was issued by the Sangguniang Panlungsod on 01 August 2008 which became final and executory in 2011 after the Regional Trial Court denied the appeal of Barangay Sangi, the Ombudsman statement said.

Under the Local Government Code, “there is no question that the SP has the jurisdiction to settle or resolve boundary disputes.”

According to Morales, “respondent’s bad faith becomes evident when despite the foregoing circumstances, [Osmeña], without basis, withheld the release of the real property tax shares of the Barangay Daanlungsod which caused the latter undue injury.”  She cited again the Local Government Code which provides that “the [RPT] share of each barangay shall be released, without need of any further action, directly to the barangay treasurer on a quarterly basis within five days after the end of each quarter and shall not be subject to any liens or holdback or whatever purpose.” DMS