Leyte town mayor’s reelection bid continues as he appeals dismissal order
TACLOBAN CITY—Mayor Ramon Oñate of Palompon town in Leyte has not abandoned his bid for reelection in the May 12 elections.
His lawyers Maria Recheille Kinazo and Sophia Noreene Oñate, in a letter sent to the Inquirer on March 4, said the fight goes on for their client contrary to what was reported in Philippine Daily Inquirer on March 3 and Inquirer.net on Oct. 10, 2024.
“There is no withdrawal to begin with. Our client did not change his mind nor has he withdrawn from the electoral race,” the lawyers said.
They also clarified that the Court of Appeals (CA) had not dismissed his petition that sought to overturn his dismissal from the service by the Office of the Ombudsman, as erroneously reported by the Inquirer.
What was denied by the appellate court, the lawyers said, was his petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO). The CA has denied the TRO since there was no sufficient evidence that would show “great and irreparable injury” to the applicants should this “ancillary relief prayed for” would not be granted.
In the meantime, the CA’s 15th Division continued to hear the main petition questioning the decision of the Ombudsman to dismiss Oñate from government service over alleged irregularities in the purchase of fuel, oil and lubricants when he was still vice mayor of Palompon.
In a previous interview, the mayor described the case filed against him as politically motivated, maintaining, “I did not steal a single centavo from the government.”
Still on the list
Oñate, who is serving for his first term as mayor, was first reported to have withdrawn his reelection bid and fielded his daughter Mary Dominique in his stead in October last year.
But his lawyers, in a letter to the Inquirer, said Ramon Oñate’s name remained in the official list of candidates for mayor in Palompon, along with his daughter, Dominique.
The elder Oñate is running for mayor under the National Unity Party while Dominique is seeking the same post under the People’s Reform Party. The third mayoral candidate is Myra Georgina Arevalo.
“As of this writing, our client did not change his mind in seeking reelection. Truth to be told, in the tentative list of candidates released by Comelec (Commission on Elections) last Nov. 6, 2024, our client’s name is still included,” Kinazo and Sophia said.
“Accordingly, the ballot face template of Palompon, Leyte, was recently published by Comelec last Jan. 6, 2025. Our client Ramon Oñate still has his name on the ballot template; hence he never changes his mind against reelection,” they added.
“It is apparent in the tentative list by Comelec that there are two separate and distinct candidates—our client (Ramon) and his daughter, Mary Dominique Oñate,” they said.
Dominique, in a separate letter by her lawyers to the Inquirer. also stressed that she is running for Palompon mayor with a full slate this May.
In the case of Mayor Oñate, his lawyers stressed that what was denied by the CA, in an order dated Feb. 14, was just their prayer for the issuance of a TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction.
CA yet to conclude
“It is elementary that when the relief prayed for is ancillary, it is a secondary or supplemental remedy to the main legal action. As such, it is only a supporting action and does not connote the dismissal of the main case,” the lawyers said.
They added: “The honorable Court of Appeals has not concluded nor decided that the main case lacked enough evidence for it to overturn the antigraft body’s ruling.”
The case against Oñate stemmed from a complaint lodged before the Ombudsman by Ian Jay Arevalo who alleged that the then vice mayor and eight others authorized the purchase of fuel, oil and lubricants for three “unserviceable” vehicles worth P57,870.05 between January and March 2021.
The Ombudsman found Oñate and the eight others guilty of serious dishonesty for falsifying public documents related to the transactions, having allegedly committed grave misconduct by “unlawfully using their public offices to procure benefits for themselves.”
Found guilty along with Oñate were Councilors Margarito Bensig Jr., Esperanza Sumalinog, Emmanuel Laurente, Consuelo Bonghanoy, Ranulfo Gaspan Sr., Jonathan Yap, and Rene Camposano; and local legislative staff assistant Debbie Ann Dignos.
