The legal team for dismissed Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said they plan on filing a temporary restraining order against the recent dismissal order handed down by the Office of the Ombudsman. The mayor, who was dismissed on grounds of “serious dishonesty” and “unlawful acquisition of wealth,” has been out of the country since the end of August.

Atty. Joenar Pueblo, Mabilog’s legal counsel, called the decision “absurd,” inferring politics may be involved.

He pointed out, the criminal case regarding the mayor’s Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN), which quoted assets of P59.35 million in 2012, which increased to P68.34 million the following year, was dropped, yet the administrative case claims otherwise.

Pueblo also questioned why Deputy Ombudsman Melchor Carandag approved the dismissal and not Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, saying it should be Carpio-Morales with the authority to take such action.

In the meantime, Vice Mayor Jose Espinosa III has since assumed full mayoral powers over the city./WDJ