Isko Moreno not keen on taking legal action amid show cause order mess

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno on Friday said he is not keen on taking legal action regarding the show cause order that was erroneously issued to him by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Moreno said he would just leave everything to God.

A strong contender for president based on the recent Pulse Asia survey, Moreno said it was not the first time that the DILG issued a show cause order against him. He said that when he assumed post as Manila mayor in 2019, he also received a show cause order signed by DILG Undersecretary for External and Legislative Affairs Ricojudge Janvier Echiverri.

Though he did not explicitly mentioned it, Moreno hinted that politics could have played a role in the incident.

"Sanay naman na siguro tayo sa ganyan, ipinapagsa-Diyos ko na lang sila, kaya lamang parang dalawang beses na o nagkataon ulit? [I'm used to this kind of issues. I will just let God handle this. But actually, it's not the first time that it happened. Coincidence?]" Moreno said.

"Pag-upo ko, a few months thereafter, it's the same letter, same show cause order... 'yan ding tao na 'yan, nagpadala ng sulat na 'yan [When I assumed post, I also received the same show cause order from the same DILG official]," he added.

The latest show cause order -- now recalled -- was issued against Moreno over the alleged failure of the city government to meet the standards of the Anti-Drug Abuse Council in 2018, a year before he was elected mayor.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año already said Moreno does not have to respond to the show cause order as it was intended for the previous mayor.

In an August 6 memorandum, Echiverri said the show cause order issued to Moreno was an "inadvertent re-issuance."

"By virtue of this error and the guidance of policies and procedures of the Department, we are hereby withdrawing the document in issue," Echiverri said, referring to the latest show cause order against Moreno. —KBK, GMA News