Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo was recently granted a temporary restraining order by the Court of Appeals, blocking the most recent dismissal order by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with a P10 million budget item marked for ‘intelligence expenses.’

With his two earlier dismissal orders downgraded and under a separate restraining order, the governor’s legal counsel, Atty. Manuelito Luna, affirmed Degamo will be able to return to his previous post.

Last month, Degamo accused Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales of taking vengeance after he voiced support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposal to investigate the Office of the Ombudsman.

The governor also believes he is being unfairly targeted as he continues to be dealt charges despite the Condonation Legal Doctrine, or the Aguinaldo Doctrine, wherein reelection to office is considered an acceptance of an official’s actions, which elected officials often utilize.

Degamo was dismissed after he was found guilty of grave misconduct in regard to an “anomalous utilization” of the province’s 2013 budget. He was earlier probed on allegations regarding the suspected misuse of provincial calamity funds.

Vice Governor Edward Mark Macias assumed the governorship towards the end of December 2017, but noted, “It’s prudent to wait for [a] few weeks, one or two weeks, to find out whether Governor Degamo can come back.”/PLL, WDJ