Four injured employees lead to the suspension of the city mayor

ANOTHER virtual bombshell hit Cebu City as the Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension of Mayor Michael Rama, City Manager Collin Rosell, the City Assessor’s Office official who happens to be Rosell’s wife, and five other City Assessor’s Office employees. Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia is now the acting mayor of Cebu City.

The six-month preventive suspension stemmed from a complaint filed on February 23 by four Cebu City Hall employees. The four were transferred from the city assessor’s office to positions that did not match their skills and experience, effective June 1, 2023. At the time of the transfers, the four employees had already been working in the city assessor’s office for 16 to 35 years. The Civil Service Commission’s regional office ruled that the reassignments were invalid. Although the four were allowed to “sit” in the office, they were not provided with sufficient space or equipment. Although they were regular employees, they were not paid their salaries because the head of the city assessor no longer considered them employees of her office.