Ombudsman junks Garma complaints vs ex-Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed the obstruction of justice and grave misconduct complaints filed against former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña for lack of merit.

“WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, the instant criminal and administrative cases against Tomas Dela Rama Osmeña are DISMISSED for lack of merit,” according to the Ombudsman order, a copy of which was re-shared by Osmeña on Facebook on Thursday.

Osmeña also mentioned the dismissal of the complaints, filed by former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSCO) General Manager Royina Garma in 2018, during his appearance at a House hearing on Thursday.

In 2018, Garma, then head of the Cebu City Police, filed the complaints after Osmeña ordered the release of three suspects who were caught illegally refilling butane canisters with liquefied petroleum gas.

But according to the Ombudsman, the complainant "miserably failed" to prove the accusations against Osmeña. 

“To hold Osmeña criminally liable, it must also be established that he had the volition or intent to facilitate the escape of [the three suspects] for the purpose of obstructing, impeding, frustrating, or delaying the successful investigation and prosecution of criminal cases,” the order read.

“This, the Complainant miserably failed to do. Hence, the dismissal of the criminal complaint against Osmeña for Obstruction of Justice is warranted.” 

Meanwhile, for the grave misconduct complaint, the Ombudsman said there is no substantial evidence against Osmeña.

“For the same reasons, it is clear that the elements of corruption, clear intent to violate the law or flagrant disregard of an established rule are not present in the instant cases. Thus, there is also no substantial evidence to hold Osmeña liable for Grave Misconduct,” the order read.

Osmeña shared the development hours after attending a House hearing on extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration's drug war. Garma who was not present during Thursday's hearing due to health reasons.

“Garma evaded the Congressional hearing I attended today, which is disappointing because just two hours ago, the case she filed against me with the Ombudsman was DISMISSED. It would have pleased me to no end to ask her to read it,” Osmeña said on Facebook.

During the hearing, he told lawmakers that he opposed Garma’s designation to Cebu City as he learned that the retired cop was allegedly receiving P1 million weekly payola.

“It says that when Garma was head of CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) she was collecting P1 million a week. I cannot accept this for Cebu City,” Osmeña said.

Due to the limited time, the lawmakers invited the former Cebu City mayor to discuss more about the issue in the next hearing. —KBK, GMA Integrated News