Baguio City – Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has failed anew in her bid to stop the enforcement of the Court of Appeals’ (CA) injunction that temporarily stopped the enforcement of the six-month suspension of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” S. Binay Jr.
Instead of a temporary restraining order (TRO) or any injunctive relief, the Supreme Court (SC) decided to conduct oral arguments next Tuesday on Morales’ petition that challenged the CA’s order stopping Mayor Binay’s preventive suspension she ordered on March 10, 2015.
In a petition filed last month, Morales also asked the SC to stop the proceedings before the CA on the petition filed by Mayor Binay.
But since the SC did not issue a TRO on Morales’s petition when it was taken up for the first time two weeks ago, the CA proceeded with its hearings last March 30 and 31 that led to the appellate court’s order the other day directing the issuance of a preliminary injunction that would extend the life of the 60-day TRO.
The CA’s resolution on the preliminary injunction directed both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) to “respect and preserve” the status quo in Makati City prior to the issuance of the March 10 suspension order.
With the preliminary injunction, Justice Secretary said the DILG and the Office of Ombudsman (OMB) has no other option but to temporarily hold Binay’s suspension.
In a text message, De Lima said that Morales and Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas III are bound by the CA resolution to recognize Binay as the legal Makati mayor.
Manila Bulletin
