Court of Appeals stops Echiverri suspension

The Court of Appeals has stopped the enforcement of the Office of the Ombudsman's suspension order against Caloocan City Mayor Enrico "Recom" Echiverri. In an eight-page resolution promulgated on Thursday but was released only on Friday, the CA's Special Fourteenth Division has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the Office of the Ombudsman and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo from implementing the order. The CA likewise issued a TRO on the suspension order against City Budget Officer Jesusa Garcia and City accountant Edna Centeno. Granting the petition of Echiverri's camp, the CA said it saw the need to issue a 60-day TRO as it deliberates on the embattled mayor's bid to contest the suspension order. "In view of the foregoing, the court grants petitioners' prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order pending determination by this Court of the propriety of the petition for certiorari filed by petitioners," said the CA. CA Associate Justice Agnes Reyes-Carpio wrote the resolution, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Rebecca De Guia-Salvador and Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla. The CA likewise ordered Echiverri's camp to file a P50,000 bond "which shall answer for whatever damages that may incur in the event that the Court finds petitioners not entitled to the injunctive relief [TRO] issued." Last Monday, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered Echiverri suspended for allegedly failing to remit over P37 million in city employees’ contributions to the Government Service Insurance System. But Echiverri questioned the order and said he merely inherited the debt from predecessor Reynaldo Malonzo. He also claimed the remittances collected during his term were all remitted to GSIS. — RSJ, GMA News