Court of Appeals halts Antique mayor’s suspension

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Mayor Ernesto Tajanlangit III of Tobias Fornier, Antique, returned to his office on Monday, November 4, after the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on his suspension. 

The Ombudsman suspended Tajanlangit for six months starting September 19. The order was based on Vice Mayor Jose Maria “Jojo” Fornier complaint of abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming of a public official, grave misconduct, and violation of Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Fornier said the mayor assaulted him over a disagreement involving the distribution of over 800 food packs from the Department of Social Welfare and Development intended for El Niño-affected residents. A video of the altercation between the two officials went viral on Facebook.

On October 30, however, the CA 14th Division on October 30 granted Tajanlangit’s petition for certiorari with application for TRO and writ of preliminary injunction. 

“The Court also made it clear and unmistakable that my right to fulfill my mandate as the duly elected mayor…as well as the right of my constituents to receive essential public services from the person they have voted into office must be protected,” Tajanlangit said in a statement. 

The TRO, which will be effective for 60 days, temporarily halts Tajanlangit’s suspension, which is set to last until March 2025, the start of the campaign period for local positions. Fornier is challenging reelectionist Tajanlangit in next year’s polls.

“I found a way since I saw that the suspension is very questionable,” the mayor said in a Facebook live broadcast on October 31. “We have proven that no one is above the law. If there are injustices in us there is always a higher court who will correct those wrongdoings.”

He stressed that the suspension from the Ombudsman was a “material threat” to his rights to serve his constituents as the elected mayor. 

Tajanlangit previously alleged that his case was “maneuvered” within the Ombudsman, citing the recent suspension of eight members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Antique and engineer Jose O. Magbanua, the building official of San Jose de Buenavista municipal government. 

He also pointed out that the recent suspensions followed a “pattern,” suggesting that someone with self-serving interests was behind it.

In a separate incident on September 22, a fire gutted three of the four parked cars of the Tajanlangit family in the property they owned in Barangay Paciencia, Tobias Fornier. The damage is estimated at P12.2 million. 

The Bureau of Fire Protection in Tobias Fornier said the incident was a “sensitive case” due to the political climate in the town. The agency has yet to release the results of its investigation on whether the incident was accidental or intentional. – Rappler.com