CA stops dismissal of CamNorte gov

By Juan Escandor Jr. NAGA CITY --- In the nick of time, the Court of Appeals stopped the dismissal of Camarines Norte Edgardo A. Tallado who was earlier ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman. The appeals court granted Tallado the writ of temporary injunction before the 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) it granted last year expired Friday (Feb. 10), effectively lifting continuously the dismissal order issued by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on April 18, 2016. Issued on Thursday (Feb. 9), the appeals court reiterated the condonation doctrine it cited in the issuance of TRO on Dec. 12, 2016 as applied in the case of Morales vs. Court of Appeals and Binay Jr. The writ of temporary injunction supplanted the TRO it granted to Tallado that initially lifted Morales’ dismissal order imposed on the governor in relation to the administrative case filed by four provincial government personnel he dismissed in 2010. “Until it is settled how the prospective application of the condonation doctrine should be applied, the Ombudsman’s Decision dated April 18, 2016 imposing the dismissal from service upon herein petitioner (Tallado) should be enjoined,” according to the Court of Appeals Third Division. The writ of temporary injunction was penned by Associate Justice Rosmari D. Carandang and concurred by Associate Justices Mario V. Lopez and Myra V. Garcia-Fernandez. In its April 18, 2016 decision, Morales found Tallado “guilty of grave misconduct and oppression/abuse of authority with the aggravating circumstance of recidivism and meted the penalty of dismissal from service with the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, bar from taking any Civil Service Examination, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service.” The administrative case in which Morales decided against Tallado was filed by Millene Marie D. Belarma-Dela Cruz, Mark Anthony Mago, Maria Joannelle I. Crisostomo and Shanta Valenciano-Baraquiel, who were previously appointed by former governor Jesus Typoco Jr. Citing the application of the condonation doctrine, the appeals court decision further explained that “the acts complained of in the administrative case were committed in 2010.” Tallado has been reelected in 2013 and 2016 as governor since he decisively won the 2010 elections. Two weeks before the elections in 2010, Tallado had been installed by the Department of Interior and Local Government as governor after the Supreme Court decided in his favor the petition to nullify and reverse the election results in 2007 that made Typoco the governor of Camarines Norte for almost three years. The appeals court has also noted the failure of the Ombudsman “to show cause why the TRO issued should be lifted and why petitioner’s (Tallado’s) application for the writ preliminary injunction should not be granted,” It granted Tallado the writ of preliminary injunction after the extension of the submission of the Ombudsman of “the show cause” argument against Tallado’s application lapsed on Jan. 23, 2017. The appeals court further ordered that the bond of P50,000 posted last year as condition of Tallado’s reinstatement as Camarines Norte’s governor “shall continue to serve as injunction bond.”