The Department of the Interior and Local Government Central Visayas (DILG 7) went unsuccessful in implementing the six-month preventive suspension order upon Mayor Michael Rama and seven other officials of the Cebu City Government as the respondents were not at the City Hall on May 10, 2024. 

DILG 7 Regional Director Leocadio Trovela arrived at the City Hall at past 10 a.m. to serve the order himself based on a decision of the Anti-Graft Office.

In a 10-page resolution, the Office of the Ombudsman Manila found sufficient grounds to put the mayor and the seven officials under suspension for grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of public officer, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, grave abuse of authority, and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for public officials and employees.

Mayor Rama was not around when Director Trovela arrived, and members of his staff refused to accept the document on behalf of the mayor.

Trovela proceeded to the Office of the City Administrator but Atty. Collin Rosell was not around as well. His team also refused to accept the suspension order.

Just like the two officials, the other respondents Maria Theresa Rosell, officer in charge of the City Assessor's Office; Francis May Jacaban, designated assistant Department head for Administration/Legal Office; Angelique Cabugao, designated assistant Department head for Operations; Jay-Ar Pescante, designated Administrative Division head; Lester Joey Beniga, designated Assessment of Records Management Division head; and Nelyn Sanrojo, designated Computer Division head, were not in their offices. 

Trovela and his legal team decided to post a copy of the suspension order at the door of the City Assessor’s Office.

Trovela said he aspired to hand out the order personally to the mayor and the seven respondents in order to discuss with them legal processes to avoid any legal question on the implementation of the suspension order.

The DILG team left when there was no hope of the mayor and the rest of the respondents showing up at the City Hall at that time. 

Trovela pointed out their head office directed for the suspension order to be served immediately based on the resolution of Ombudsman Manila. Members of the media called up Rama but his phone number cannot be reached. 

The suspension order stemmed from a complaint of four regular employees at the City Assessor’s Office who were reassigned to other City Hall offices but were not paid of salaries and benefits since July 2023.

The four employees who worked as tax mappers and local assessment operations officers with salary grades ranging from P16,000 to P35,000 monthly have been moved from the Office of the City Assessor, and reassigned to the Cebu City Anti-Mendicancy Office, South Road Properties Management Office, Cebu City Ooperation Second Chance, and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources, respectively. 

In a previous interview with Rama, he said he has no idea of the complaint and has not received a copy of the suspension order yet. The city administrator stated the same.