The Commission on Elections has ordered the Department of Interior and Local Government in Cebu to lift the suspension on Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and 13 other local officials.
A Comelec officials who refused to be named confirmed the letter sent to DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero.
The suspension order was imposed on Rama, Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and 12 councilors due to alleged anomalous release of calamity aid to City Hall employees in 2013.
Rama served a 60-day preventive suspension that started four months ago.
Malacañang, under the office of Paquito Ochoa, has ordered the suspension of Rama, Labella, and 12 councilors over the calamity assistance to city government employees, who were allegedly not victims of the earthquake and Super Typhoon “Yolanda” that devastated the province of Cebu in 2013.
The allegations stemmed from the release of P20,000 each as calamity aid to City Hall officials and employees after the said calamities.
In April, however, the Comelec en banc deferred the suspension order issued by the Office of the President.
Comelec Andres Bautista said that the commission en banc decided to honor its existing resolution that the poll body can grant exemption from suspension during the period of election.
Rama, a member of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s United Nationalist Alliance, lost to former mayor Tomas Osmeña by more than 30,000 votes during Monday’s elections.
