Bohol town has 2 mayors
DAUIS, BOHOL—The municipality of Dauis in Bohol found itself with “two mayors” after both embattled Mayor Marietta Tocmo-Sumaylo and Vice Mayor Marie Nickie Bolos-Delgado reported to their respective offices on Monday, claiming authority over the municipal government.
Tocmo-Sumaylo insisted she remains the duly elected mayor, stressing she has not received any official order from the Office of the Ombudsman or the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) instructing her to vacate her post.
“In the absence of such an order, I am duty-bound to continue performing my functions as mayor. Stepping aside without due process would amount to neglect of duty,” she said.
Tocmo-Sumaylo added that she had written to the DILG Central Visayas regional director to clarify the situation, saying no formal document addressed to her exists ordering her dismissal.
“We will wait for the order of implementation. I will respect and follow the law,” she said.
Rule of law
Bolos-Delgado, who took her oath on Friday as Dauis mayor based on order from the DILG, also reported to the municipal office housed in the Legislative Building. A new signage identifying her office as the “Office of the Mayor” has been installed.
Bolos-Delgado, a lawyer who said she would have preferred to remain vice mayor so she could continue her legal profession, stressed that her assumption of office is not about personal ambition.
“This is not about me, this is not about what I want, and this is not about Mayor Miriam (Sumaylo). This is about the rule of law and respecting government institutions. It is about ensuring that the delivery of basic services is not delayed and that municipal transactions are not hampered,” she said.
Bolos-Delgado added that while Tocmo-Sumaylo may still pursue legal remedies, the municipal government must comply in the meantime with the directives of the Ombudsman and the DILG.
The leadership conflict has left Dauis residents and local employees in uncertainty, as both officials assert their mandate to serve as mayor.
DILG-Bohol Director Johnjoan Mende met both Tocmo-Sumaylo and Bolos-Delgado. Mende met Tocmo-Sumaylo past 10 a.m. on Monday but “things were not resolved.”
Tocmo-Sumaylo said Mende was not able to give her copy of the implementing order.
Ombudsman’s order
The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal of Tocmo-Sumaylo after finding her guilty of grave misconduct and gross neglect of duty for issuing a business permit to a cockpit arena without a valid franchise.
The Ombudsman said Tocmo-Sumaylo violated the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials (Republic Act No. 6713) and the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) when she granted a mayor’s permit to the Dauis Cockpit Arena in June 2022 despite the expiration of its 20-year franchise in 2020.
Tocmo-Sumaylo argued the cockpit franchise remained valid and had been transferred multiple times before being sold to businessman Wilson Du, but the Ombudsman ruled she acted without authority.
Her earlier petition for a temporary restraining order was dismissed by the Court of Appeals on Aug. 11. She has since filed a motion for reconsideration before the Ombudsman, which is still pending resolution.
