The standoff over Makati City has disrupted the delivery of services as department heads and council members refuse to honor the memos signed and issued by Vice Mayor Romulo Pena, who is locked in a legal battle for control of the city against the incumbent Mayor Junjun Binay.
On Monday, Binay Binay led the regular morning flag raising ceremony at the new Makati City Hall, while Pena held the ceremony at the old city hall.
City Hall personnel expressed fear of delay in payment of salaries because of the leadership dispute, saying most of them are ordinary employees who depend on their pay for their family’s daily sustenance. Majority of the city’s workforce are also Makati residents.
The employees, who expressed support for Binay, denounced officials of the Department of Interior and Local Government who wrote a letter to the Land Bank of the Philippines identifying Vice Mayor “Kid” Pena as the authorized signatory on fund disbursements.
“The DILG has clearly overstepped its bounds, to the detriment of city government employees and our families. Because of its recent actions, we now face the bleak prospect of going hungry and bereft of basic necessities should there be delays in the release of our salaries,” they said.
At least 2,000 Binay supporters trooped to the city hall quadrangle and attended the flag raising ceremony while a number of Pena followers, wearing white shirts, brought white balloons.
Pena said he was unfazed by Binay supporters and insisted he was merely following the DILG order to take over the post of Binay, who had secured a Court of Appeals’ temporary restraining order to stop the Ombudsman from enforcing the suspensio against him.
Pena denied he wa taking over the city hall.
“They should first verify that information and think the capability of the person to do such thing,” said Pena, who expressed intention to hold a dialogue with Binay to break the deadlock.
Binay remains in his office and insists he is the duly elected mayor of the city.
On Monday, the camp of Binay thanked Department of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima for clarifying that her legal opinion on the issue about the TRO was merely an advise and not a ruling.
In a statement, De Lima said her legal opinion should not be considered as a ruling that needed to be obeyed by everyone. “It does not purport to adjudicate or bind anyone. It is an opinion. It is advisory in nature.”
Makati City Councilor and city spokesperson Mayeth Casal-Uy said there was no reason for DILG Secretary Mar Roxas and Pena to insist that Pena is the acting city mayor.
“Secretary De Lima has spoken. She was merely giving advice. It was just her opinion and so it does not change the ruling of the court,” Uy said.
“We are very thankful to Secretary De Lima for clarifying the issue. It is high time for the DILG to stop being obstinate and obey the court’s order. Only then would we have genuine peace here in Makati,” she added.
Pena insisted he was following orders from the DILG, which he said, has the jurisdicton on the matter relative to local government units.
He said he will soon appoint the replacement of Makati officials who were also subjects of suspension order from the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building II.
Pena also said his camp is also awaiting the Department of Finance to appoint a new city treasurer anytime soon.
The Court of Appeals has already ordered Pena, Roxas, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales and De Lima to file their comments on Binay’s petition for contempt.
Binay’s camp also expressed fear that the ongoing standoff would bring about negative perception on foreign investors.
“We all know how important Makati is to the Philippine economy, being the country’s financial center. We have every reason to worry about the negative perception being created in the minds of foreign investors by this situation where the executive department, the DILG secretary no less, for political purposes is impeding services and willfully violating an order of the court. What signal does that send to foreign investors?” said Binay’s chief information officer Joey Salgado.