CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES — The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the Office of the Ombudsman’s ruling finding former Mandaue City mayor Jonas C. Cortes guilty of Grave Misconduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service over the irregular designation of an officer-in-charge of the City Social Welfare Services Office (CSWSO).
In a 16-page decision promulgated on 02 December 2025, the CA 14th Division denied Cortes’ Petition for Review and affirmed the Ombudsman decision on 12 August 2024, and the order in OMB-V-A-SEP-23-0221 on 30 September 2024.
The appellate court sustained the Ombudsman’s finding that Cortes improperly designated Camilo S. Basaca Jr. as Officer-in-Charge of the CSWSO in July 2022 despite the latter’s failure to meet the qualification requirements under the Local Government Code (LGC) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules.
The CA ruled that, at the time of his designation, Basaca was serving as Executive Assistant II under a co-terminous and primarily confidential appointment, which under the 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions (ORAOHRA) disqualified him from being designated to a position that requires a permanent career appointment.
The court also agreed with the Ombudsman that Basaca did not meet the substantive qualifications for the CSWSO post, noting that his Bachelor of Science in Office Administration is not a course related to social work or sociology, and that he failed to sufficiently prove at least five years of social work experience as required by law.
Certifications presented to show his involvement in social welfare activities through a non-government organization were deemed insufficient to establish the legally required experience in the practice of social work.
Cortes argued that issues involving qualifications and appointments fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of the CSC. The CA rejected this claim, ruling that the Ombudsman has constitutional authority to investigate and discipline public officials for illegal or improper acts in the performance of their duties.
“The Ombudsman has primary jurisdiction over administrative disciplinary cases against public officials,” the court said, emphasizing that the case involved administrative liability, not merely the validity of an appointment.
The Ombudsman earlier imposed on Cortes a penalty of one-year suspension without pay. Should suspension no longer be feasible due to his separation from government service, the penalty is to be converted into a fine equivalent to one year of his basic salary.
While the Ombudsman dismissed the administrative complaint against Basaca for insufficiency of evidence, it found that Cortes’ act of designating him despite clear legal restrictions demonstrated a flagrant disregard of established rules, satisfying the elements of Grave Misconduct.
The CA held that Cortes’ actions undermined the merit-based civil service system and eroded public trust in government institutions. “Such disregard for established procedure is a serious breach of duty,” the court ruled.
The CA decision was penned by Associate Justice Emilio Rodolfo Y. Legaspi III, with Associate Justices Rafael Antonio M. Santos and Roberto P. Quiroz concurring.
The Freeman sought a reaction from the former mayor’s camp but was informed that they had yet to receive an official copy of the decision. A statement will be issued upon receipt, they said.
| Written by Mitchelle Palaubsanon
