Almendras awaits CSC’s final decision

LAWYER Danilo Almendras has continued his duties as the administrator of Lapu-Lapu City while waiting for the decision from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) 7.

City legal officer-in-charge James Sayson is hopeful that the CSC 7 will confirm Almendras’s appointment.

CSC 7 legal division head Marvi Miranda said the agency would check if the process and requirements needed in appointing Almendras had been followed.

The City Council disapproved of Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan’s decision naming Almendras as the city administrator during its session on Aug. 8, 2019. The lawyer is not a resident of Lapu-Lapu City, according to the majority of councilors who are allies of Chan’s political nemesis—the Radazas—and dominate the City Council.

However, Sayson said the City Council’s decision was invalid as it had failed to act within 15 days after Almendras’s appointment was endorsed.

Citing the Local Government Code, Sayson said Section 454 states that the council “shall act on the appointment within 15 days from its (the mayor’s office) submission (of list of appointees), otherwise the same shall be deemed confirmed.”

The CSC 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments states that the council’s secretary or the human resources officer must issue a certificate of no action after the council fails to either approve or disapprove the appointment of department heads, administrator, legal officer and information officer.

The City Council reportedly issued a certificate of no action last July 30 on Chan’s endorsement of Almendras.

Sayson further said Almendras was able to show proof that he owns a house in a subdivision in Barangay Basak, Lapu-Lapu City, and a homeowner’s association official certified Almendras’s residence. The city administrator also has a house in Mandaue City.

Only Almendras’s appointment was questioned by the City Council as Chan’s other appointees are not department heads. /