2 mayors in Dumanjug
The Aguinaldo Doctrine was the means of escape for more than 100 public officials accused of corruption from July 2013 to October 2014. It is still the hope for getaway of several others with graft cases pending in the ombudsman, the Sandiganbayan and the high courts.
In Dumanjug, Cebu, for one, the Agui doctrine-struck down in 2015 by the Supreme Court in the case of graft against Makati Mayor Junjun Binay-still wraps around the dismissal of Mayor Guntrano “Gungun” Gica. Its ghost doesn’t just scare the ombudsman, which sought its execution. It also influences courts in deciding the fate of those still facing charges of stealing public funds.
How DILG sees it
Gungun was replaced in January 2018 by Vice Mayor Rainerio Asentista but Gica reassumed as mayor in September after the Court of Appeals reversed the ombudsman’s order of dismissal. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) though thinks Gica’s return is illegal, believing the court ruling is not yet final and executory, the ombudsman having filed a motion for reconsideration. Thus, DILG served Gungun an order last Dec. 27 to vacate the post. The result: two mayors, each asserting at yearend he was the lawful chief executive. Here’s how DILG looks at it:
[] Enforcement of the ombudsman order against Gungun was immediate, without waiting for the outcome of the appeal to the courts.
[] Enforcement of the court order for Gungun must wait for its becoming final and executory.
Amount involved
The Court of Appeals last July ruled that the Agui doctrine benefits Gungun because the charges were filed before the SC killed it three years ago. The mayor allegedly bloated the food bill for budget officers by tampering the total of P11,435 to P21,435.
That’s a ridiculously low amount compared to the money involved in Rep. Rodrigo “Bebot” Abellanosa’s case. In 2010 and 2011, Bebot, then a councilor and owner of a school and head of its foundation, contracted the amount of P51.065 million for scholarships given out by the city government. He signed for the school and the foundation in a contract that he, as councilor, approved. The ombudsman ordered him dismissed in 2014, which the House never implemented and the Court of Appeals later reversed.
Voters involved
But Bebot’s case involved another aspect of the Agui doctrine: the electorate that elected the accused. From being councilor, when the offenses were “committed,” to being congressman, when he was charged.
Bebot’s election in 2013, the court ruled, cleared him for his offenses in 2010 and 2011 because the 2013 mandate for congressman was even bigger than that for councilor. More voters forgave him in effect. Thus the doctrine connotes: the sin is committed but the people sinned against forgive.
Election won’t be a shield
The slaying of the Agui doctrine appears to be “prospective” in application. Meaning, it won’t benefit offenses committed or complaints filed after 2015. The May 2019 election no longer will be a legal shield.
Meantime, though it seems to help to Gungun still, at least partly and temporarily (he still faces criminal charges before the Sandiganbayan). Even with the CA ruling, DILG thinks he must stay dismissed until the court finally orders his reinstatement.
People’s vote
Each protagonist, of course, interprets it the way the document favors him. Gungun relies on the CA decision, although what its precise order really is still has to be clarified to the parties, the government agencies concerned, and the public.
The “other mayor,” Asentista, gets support from the DILG instruction, which tells Gica to stay dismissed until the court order is final and executory.
But the fate of the case in court rests largely on the Agui doctrine. Unless the people of Dumanjug by their vote in May would say, “Enough of this” and reject Gica. If Gica would win, the haunting would continue.