City treasurer says Tomas forum-shopping

Diwa tells civil service and finance department that former mayor’s 38 cases are not compliant with the rules in filing administrative cases Treasurer also says both government agencies have no jurisdiction over the cases, which are anchored on audit reports, which are under the Commission on Audit Adverse reports have already been corrected

CEBU City Acting Treasurer Diwa Cuevas has asked the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Finance (DOF) to dismiss all the 38 administrative cases filed against her by former mayor and congressman Tomas Osmeña.

In an answer she submitted to the CSC and DOF last Thursday, Cuevas said that the complaints filed against her before the two agencies substantially have the same content, hence, constitute forum-shopping.

Forum shopping is the act of filing the same suit in different avenues, either simultaneously or successively.

Osmeña lodged 12 complaints against Cuevas before the CSC 7 while another 26 cases were filed in the DOF through the Bureau of Local Government Finance 7 last October.

Osmeña anchored his complaints on the audit report of the Commission on Audit (COA), which gave the City an “adverse opinion” on some ots its transactions and operations in 2013.

In all the complaints filed by the former mayor, Cuevas said it do not contain the necessary certification of non-forum shop- ping, which is a violation of section 11 of rule 3 of the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in Civil Service.

Aside from forum-shopping, Cuevas sought the dismissal of all the cases, saying that DOF and CSC don't have jurisdiction over them.

Cuevas invoked section 2, article IX-D of the Constitution, which provides that COA has the "exclusive authority" to define the scope of its audit and examination, including those for the "prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties."

She said any action that will be taken by the CSC and DOF will be an encroachment of the functions of COA.

Granting the two offices have jurisdiction over the cases, Cuevas said the cases should still be dismissed for failing to comply with the requirements of a valid complaint.

Furthermore, Cuevas said that all the audit observations made by COA have already been rectified by the City.