Ilocos mayor regains seat

PAOAY, Ilocos Norte – Jessie Galano, who was unseated as mayor of this town for grave misconduct two weeks ago, was reinstated on Friday.

The Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on June 21 stopping the implementation of the order of the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing Galano for grave misconduct.

The CA said Galano’s petition “was extremely urgent,” adding that he would suffer “grave and irrepa- rable injury” if his motion is not acted upon.

Galano’s dismissal stemmed from a complaint filed against him for allegedly falsifying the travel documents of municipal administrator Bruno Dumlao, who was councilor at the time.

Dumlao claimed the charges against them were politically motivated.

Former mayor Dolores Clemente, whom Galano beat in the 2016 elections, filed the complaint.