The Court of Appeals (CA) on Thursday halted the ouster of San Jose del Monte, Bulacan Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro with the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales. The TRO shall be valid for 60 days with the condition for a bond of P200,000. The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla, and concurred by Associate Justices Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Socorro Inting. San Pedro’s ouster stemmed from administrative complaint in July 2015 of former City Agriculturist Rufino Gravador Jr., alleging constructive dismissal and oppression by the mayor who reassigned him as acting agriculturist from being a city engineer. On April 14, 2016, the Office of the Ombudsman found San Pedro guilty of grave misconduct and dismissed him from the service, with cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in the government service.JOMAR CANLAS
