Cebu City Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia assumed mayorship on acting capacity on Monday, May 13, 2024.

As acting mayor, Garcia met with City Hall department heads first thing in the morning.

Garcia received the order from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday, May 10, 2024 on his "assumption to office as local chief executive effective immediately." 

He said it is his priority to discharge the powers and duties of the Office of the City Mayor to further ensure that City Hall operations go unhampered by the preventive suspension order served upon Mayor Michael Rama and seven other officials of the Cebu City Government.

Garcia ordered immediately the processing of salaries and benefits due for the four regular employees who filed complaints against Rama and seven others, as well as of the mid-year bonus to be released by May 15, 2024.

"Ako gyud nang gi-high priority ang sweldo; the latest on Monday, May 20, 2024; the earliest on Friday, May 17, 2024," Garcia said to members of the media. 

6-MONTH SUSPENSION ORDER

The DILG served upon Rama and seven other officials a 6-month preventive suspension order on May 10, 2024 based on a decision of the Office of the Ombudsman. 

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

To recall, 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. 

The other respondents are 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.

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 Operation Second Chance, and Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources, respectively. 

In a prayer rally backed by his supporters, Rama said he believes the decision to put him under preventive suspension is “politically motivated.”