DAVAO CITY –The 60-day preventive suspension order issued to Davao del Norte Governor Edwin I. Jubahib is considered null and void, says former President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday night.
“The preventive suspension order must be received by the party or parties involved or their lawyers or it should be posted in the building where the Governor holds office,” Duterte emphasized.
Former Department of Interior and Local Government XI director Alex Roldan followed Duterte’s opinion.
“For a suspension order to be effective and served, it should be received by the party involved, or if he refuses to receive it, it must be posted on the official bulletin board inside the governor’s building for people to see that the official is under suspension, if these elements are not met then the suspension order is considered null and void or defective,” Roldan explained
The observation of the former director was in reaction to the suspension order served to Jubahib which was posted by DILG Acting Director Abdullah Matalam outside the steel gate of the Davao del Norte provincial capitol compound on Thursday morning.
“If the requirements of the law are not met, then it is defective and the suspension order is deemed not served,” Roldan emphasized.
In many instances in the past, Roldan said “Based on the procedure and during my time, suspension orders are served for the same document to take effect.”
In the case of Jubahib, Roldan stressed “It is defective and the installation of the acting Governor is not valid because the suspension order was not served.”
Dubious
“If gipapilit lang. It seems dubious, Irregular na (If it was just pasted, it seems dubious, it is regular)” said Ateneo de Davao University law professor Rodolfo Elman “If the suspension order was just posted outside the building, says Ateneo de Davao Law professor Rodolfo Elman.
Elman, who served as Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao said “The refusal to receive is questionable if it was posted outside the gate of the capitol. it is dubious-irregular.”
Those who served the order should have exhausted legal means to serve the suspension “Talk with the staff of the governor, explain that there is a suspension
“There should be minutes about the issuance of the order and the minutes show that the issuing officer explained why they were there and explained the purpose,”
Elman added.
Overkill
Residents and employees of the provincial government witnessed over 200 police personnel outside the provincial capitol during the attempted issuance of the suspension order.
“During my time, I only needed at least two police personnel to deliver the suspension order, I was told there were over 200 police personnel. That is overkill-unsa man na giera (Was it a war),” Roldan added.
On Saturday morning, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin in a statement said the suspension order of Jubahib followed the due process of the law.
