CEBU CITY – Two residents have filed criminal and administrative complaints against the two highest ranking government officials of Mandaue City, Cebu.
The complaints were filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against suspended Mayor Jonas Cortes and acting Mayor Glen Bercede by Karina Labos of Barangay Pagsabungan and Lea May Miñoza of Lower Tabok .
They asked the anti-graft court to investigate Cortes for allegedly continuing to act as mayor by signing documents even after he was suspended for one year starting last August 21.
The complainants stated that during the recent awarding ceremony for outstanding taxpayers, Cortes delivered a speech and flashed on the LED wall behind him was his name identifying him as "mayor" which was similarly included in the official written program for the event.
Cortes’ supposed defiance of his suspension was the reasons cited for the complaint of usurpation and grave misconduct that was filed against him last September 17.
The complainants said the “brazen acts” of Cortes and Bercede are “extreme insult, disrespect, and mockery” to the Office of the Ombudsman.
They cited that despite receiving and acknowledging the suspension order on August 21, as evidenced by the press conference of City Administrator Jamaal Calipayan, the statement of Cortes posted in his official social media account and that of the Mandaue City Public Information Office, Cortes committed “a series of violations.”
Cortes continued reporting to his office and signed as mayor on August 22, a day after his suspension, a Certificate of Urgency for the memorandum of agreement between the City of Mandaue and real estate company Cebu Landmaster Inc. He also attended the Cebu Tourism Investment Forum 2024 at Bai Hotel.
More “usurpation and grave misconduct incidents” were cited by the complainants, such as conducting a cleanup drive inside the CICC compound where he was addressed as “Mayor Jonas,” with videos of him representing the city. Cortes also “appeared as mayor” during the send-off ceremony of Mandaue’s contingent to the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo 2024.
“To show his non-compliance with the suspension order, (Cortes) ended the day heading the Mandaue Food Fair 2024, leading the ribbon-cutting ceremony “in manifest defiance of the order of the Office of the Ombudsman,” the complainants said.
“Eversince the suspension order was issued, respondent Cortes has tried his best to keep the public from learning the truth about his suspension by hosting and attending various events. One of these is the 1st Mayor Jonas Cortes 4x4 Off-Road Challenge,” the complainants added.
On August 27, they said Cortes convened meetings, as evidenced by Facebook posts showing him sitting behind his office desk with Bercede and three councilors, earlier meeting with department heads and barangay captains. Attached were screenshots of Facebook posts of Jose Sollano and Councilor Cynthia Remedios.
“This behavior not only undermines the validity of the suspension but also sets a troubling precedent where authority is seemingly flouted. His presence at these public gatherings, often presented as the sitting mayor, misrepresents his current status and disrespects the legal framework that mandates his suspension,” the complainants said.
The two residents included Bercede in the complaint for “deliberately allowing Cortes to attend, participate, and act as if he was not suspended from service during official events of Mandaue.”
“Respondent Cortes’ consistent and deliberate actions and respondent Bercede’s feigned ignorance constitute grave misconduct…(They) should not be allowed to diminish the public’s perception of the authority of the Ombudsman. Neither should they use their position to ignore the suspension order and its executory effect,” Labos and Miñoza stated.