The Court of Appeals (CA) ordered yesterday the issuance of an injunction that will compel the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) and the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) to “respect and preserve” the status quo prevailing in Makati City before the issuance of the six-month preventive suspension of Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” S. Binay, Jr.
This means that the OMB and the DILG would have to reinstall Mayor Binay as Makati City’s chief executive, which was the status quo before the issuance of his preventive suspension on March 10, 2015.
But Mayor Binay, as directed by the CA in its resolution that ordered the issuance of a preliminary injunction, has to post a P500,000 bond to avail himself of the benefits of the injunction.
Legal quarters said that once the required bond is posted, the Office of the Ombudsman and the DILG would have no further reason to deprive Mayor Binay of his post as Makati City’s chief executive until the issue before the CA is resolved on its merits.
It can be recalled that the Office of the Ombudsman and the DILG refused to honor the CA’s TRO with an opinion that the restraining order had become moot and academic with the implementation of the suspension order and the installation of Vice Mayor Romulo Pena as acting mayor before the issuance of the restraining order.
With the refusal, there has been two mayors in Makati City discharging the functions of chief executive – Binay and Peña.
Manila Bulletin
