Davide to check if he can reinstate Gica

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said he will check if he has the power to reinstate a dismissed government official on the basis on a Provincial Board ruling.

This after dismissed Dumanjug mayor Gungun Gica expressed in an interview with reporters that he wishes for the governor to issue an order for him to return to his mayoral seat.

Gica faced two cases for allegedly falsifying an official receipt from P11,435 to P21,435.

Due to the accusation, former Dumanjug mayor Nelson Garcia filed an administrative case against Gica before the Provincial Board and a criminal case at the Office of the Ombudsman.

In November 2013, the Ombudsman ruled in favor of Garcia. In July 2018, the PB ruled in favor of Gica, dismissing the subject complaint due to lack of merit.

The PB first had the custody of Gica's case but the Ombudsman ruled for Gica's dismissal before the PB had arrived at a decision.

Davide said this was a possible case of forum shopping.

“Exactly. Mao nay tunan pud nato (kung) unsay implications ana. On one hand is the decision of the Ombudsman and unya karon kaning sa Provincial Board,” he said.

With two contradicting resolutions at hand, the governor said that there will be a need to identify which “tribunal or forum” had taken cognizance of the case.

“There’s a legal implication ana. Tan-awon nato. I haven’t seen the resolution pa sa Provincial Board,” Davide said.

With the same incident charged at two different government bodies which have a power over local government officials, he said, the angle of forum shopping can also be looked into.

“That’s another aspect pud nga tan-awn whether if naay forum shopping,” the governor said.

Forum shopping is defined as a “malpractice of a party from instituting two or more actions or proceedings grounded on the same cause with the intention of getting a favorable decision from one or the other courts,” according to lawyer Jose Sison in his column in The STAR.

At present, Rene Asentista sits as the mayor of Dumanjug.

Meanwhile, Gica said he has a pending motion for reconsideration before the Court of Appeals on the decision of the Ombudsman.

With the PB’s resolution, he hopes it will support his motion for CA to give his case priority and rule in his favor.