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CEBU CITY — The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas has thrown out another complaint against Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, marking the third time the anti-graft body has rejected challenges to his assumption of office following the dismissal of former mayor Michael Rama.
The complaint, filed by former city hall employees Vicente Esmeña and Teofilo Rosaroso Jr., was dismissed for lack of palpable merit.
The Ombudsman's ruling, released earlier this month, also cleared Department of the Interior and Local Government-Central Visayas director Leocadio Trovela, Cebu City administrator Kristine Joyce Batucan, and Human Resource and Development Office head Henry Tomalabcad, who were named as co-respondents in the case.
Garcia presented a copy of the dismissal order in a press conference on Monday, saying the decision reaffirmed his lawful rise to the city's top post and underscored the legal soundness of the Ombudsman's actions.
"That's what I told you before. It's one thing to file, and it's another thing to prove it in court where there is some actual jurisdiction," Garcia said, referring to the numerous complaints that have been filed since he took office.
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Esmeña, who previously led the Barangay Affairs Office, and Rosaroso, also a coterminous employee, both served under Rama and were terminated shortly after Garcia assumed the post of mayor.
They alleged that their removal lacked factual and legal basis, and questioned the legitimacy of Garcia's accession.
In their complaint, they claimed that Rama's dismissal had not yet been officially served and was therefore not executory.
The Ombudsman rejected these claims, pointing to its own rules that make its decisions immediately executory.
Under Rule 3, Section 7 of Administrative Order 7, rulings such as dismissal from service take effect without need for further action, even if the concerned official refuses or fails to acknowledge receipt of the decision.
Garcia's transition to full mayor began in May 2024 when Rama was placed under preventive suspension in connection with a separate administrative case.
In October 2024, Rama was formally dismissed from office after the Ombudsman found him guilty of nepotism and grave misconduct for signing the appointment papers of his two brothers-in-law.
Following the ruling, Trovela administered Garcia's oath as the city's new mayor. At the time, Garcia had already been serving as acting mayor by virtue of his position as vice mayor.
Esmeña and Rosaroso's case was the third to be dismissed by the Ombudsman.
Earlier, the anti-graft office cleared Garcia and other officials in a complaint filed by Homer Cabaral, a former executive assistant under Rama, who also alleged illegal dismissal and argued that the Ombudsman lacked jurisdiction over mayors of highly urbanized cities.
That complaint was similarly dismissed for lack of palpable merit.
An anonymous complaint filed last year was also junked. Like the others, it challenged Garcia's rise to the mayorship and questioned the enforcement of Rama's dismissal.
The Ombudsman ruled that the complainant had failed to submit necessary documents and evidence to support the accusations, particularly on the alleged improper disclosure of the dismissal decision.
In its decision, the anti-graft office emphasized that allegations must be supported by concrete evidence and not founded merely on suspicion or speculation. It stressed that mere claims, without proof, do not constitute valid grounds for administrative liability.
The Ombudsman clarified that any failure or refusal to implement its decisions, including the removal, suspension or demotion of an official, could result in disciplinary action against those who do not comply.
It also said that the filing of an appeal does not suspend the enforcement of its rulings.
Garcia, who is running for a full term of office in the May 2025 elections under the Kugi Uswag Sugbo banner, said that his assumption as mayor of Cebu City was lawful and in accordance with the Ombudsman's mandate.
Rama, his former ally and running mate in the 2022 elections, is seeking to return to city hall under the Barug political party.
