Ombudsman junks 2 more complaints vs Cebu City Mayor Raymond Garcia

Latest rulings bring total to eight dismissed cases challenging his succession

Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia urged his critics to accept the rulings and focus on the city’s progress instead of pursuing politically motivated legal battles. | CDN Photo/ Pia Piquero

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Two more administrative complaints questioning the legitimacy of Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia’s assumption of office have been dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman.

These mark the seventh and eighth time the anti-graft body has junked cases against the sitting mayor.

In separate rulings approved on January 27, the Ombudsman upheld Garcia’s legal succession to the city’s top post following the dismissal of former Mayor Michael Rama in October 2024 over nepotism and grave misconduct.

The Ombudsman ruled that the complaints lacked “palpable merit.”

READ: Ombudsman upholds Garcia’s legitimacy as Cebu City mayor

The cases were filed by a group of former City Hall employees, including Mark Lester Ceballos, Glicerio Germundo Jr., Lemuel Felisario, Robert Barquilla, and Vicente Esmeña.

The complainants argued that Garcia’s assumption of office was invalid, claiming the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) had not been officially informed of Rama’s dismissal before Garcia took his oath as mayor.

But the Ombudsman emphasized that its decisions were “immediately executory” and did not require additional endorsement from any agency, including the DILG, for implementation.

“The non-endorsement of the decision by the DILG nor the lack of privity of the implementation thereof by the agency does not make the decision or its implementation invalid or without force,” the Ombudsman ruled.

READ: Mike Rama sacked anew over multi-million garbage deals

The resolution cited both the Ombudsman’s internal rules and prevailing jurisprudence, specifically under Administrative Order No. 7 and the case of Elmer P. Lee vs. Estela V. Sales, which affirm the binding nature of its disciplinary decisions once issued.

Garcia assumed the mayoralty in October 2024 after the Ombudsman imposed the penalty of dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public office on Rama for appointing two of his brothers-in-law to city government posts — a move the anti-graft body ruled as a clear case of nepotism.

Prior to that, Garcia had already served as acting mayor since May 2024 while Rama was under preventive suspension over a separate administrative case.

The two newly dismissed complaints add to a growing list of legal challenges the Ombudsman has rejected, all centered on efforts to dispute Garcia’s succession.

READ: Ombudsman: 90% of cases filed are politically motivated

Among these were cases filed by former Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) head Homer Cabaral, two anonymous complainants, and two former Rama-aligned City Hall employees who questioned their termination under Garcia’s administration.

In all instances, the Ombudsman found no legal basis to question Garcia’s assumption of office, pointing out that the city government had properly acted on the dismissal order against Rama once it was received and endorsed internally to the Human Resource Division.

The legal tussles mirror the deepening political rivalry between the Rama and Garcia camps ahead of the May 2025 elections, where both are expected to square off for the mayoralty.

One of the complaints had also been filed by lawyer and South District councilor candidate Mikel Rama, son of the former mayor. Like the others, his case was dismissed, with the Ombudsman reiterating the legality of Garcia’s succession.

“They insist I usurped the position, claiming I was not yet the legitimate mayor. But these cases have been dismissed outright for lack of merit,” Garcia said in a previous statement.

In light of the new dismissals, Garcia urged his critics to move on and allow the city government to focus on public service.

“I urge everyone to respect the Ombudsman’s ruling and move forward in ensuring that City Hall remains focused on serving the people of Cebu City with efficiency, accountability, and good governance,” Garcia said.

Despite the string of Ombudsman rulings upholding Garcia’s mayorship, Rama has secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court, allowing him to pursue his candidacy in the upcoming elections while his legal battle continues.