Aklan court grants injunction in favor of Kalibo gov't

Garbage collectors are also affected by the re-enacted budget of the capital town of Kalibo / PHOTO BOY RYAN ZABAL

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

The Aklan Regional Trial Court has granted the writ of preliminary injunction in favor of the municipal government of Kalibo on Tuesday afternoon. 

Judge Elmo Del Rosario of Branch 5 issued the court order for the Special Civil Case No. 10046 for Certiorari, prohibition and injunction filed by the municipality of Kalibo against the Office of the Aklan Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) and the Provincial Local Finance Committee. 

The civil case stemmed from Aklan SP Resolution No. 100 series of 2015 declaring the Appropriation Ordinance No. 2014-19 for General Fund and Appropriation Ordinance No. 2014-20 for Municipal Enterprise Economic Development for a combined P242.793 million  budget for year 2015 as 'inoperative in its entirety' on March 25.  

The municipality of Kalibo, which was constrained to operate on re-enacted budget, filed the verified complaint before the Regional Trial Court on April 8. 

Aside from projects funded by the 2015 annual budget, affected by the re-enacted budget are 285 job order personnel, most of them are assigned as auxiliary police and traffic aides, disaster risk management workers, garbage collectors and agriculture services personnel.

On April 16, the Aklan SP, represented by Provincial Legal Officer Lee Manares, also filed an urgent motion to junk the civil case of the municipality of Kalibo. 

Del Rosario, in his court order, cited that "the writ of preliminary injunction is a provisional remedy to which parties litigant may resort for the preservation of their rights or interests." 

"This court finds the presence of two requisites which are necessary for the injunction to issue, namely, the existence of the right to be protected and the acts to which the injunction is to be directed and violative of said right," he added. 

"The Sangguniang Panlalawigan disapproved the appropriation ordinances for being ultra vires, for being invalid and falsified documents and not approved by the required majority for Sangguniang Bayan members which constitutes an act which is violative of said right," stated the 11-page court order. 

Last week, the municipality of Kalibo presented five witnesses during the court hearing, namely, Municipal General Services Officer Editha de Lemos, Civil Defense Officer Terence June Toriano, Sangguniang Bayan secretary Diana Fegarido, Municipal Budget Officer Nannie Roldan and Municipal Accountant Freddie Malacas in support of the special civil case. 

On the other hand, the respondents presented their lone witness - Provincial Budget Officer Mary Grace Macahilas. 

 'INITIAL VICTORY'

For his part, acting Kalibo Municipal Treasurer Rey Villaruel said job order personnel affected by the civil case will receive their salary for the month of April. 

All regular municipal government employees are also entitled to receive their mid-year bonuses following the issuance of the injunction. 

Mayor William Lachica also hailed the court order, saying, the programs and services such as cementing of municipal roads, street lighting and drainage projects, health and sanitation programs will push through. 

Lachica stressed they will also seek an 'exemption' for the payment of P1-mllion court bond to answer the damages of the Office of Sangguniang Panlalawigan and Provincial Local Finance Committee from the issuance of injunction.