ILOILO CITY?A showdown looms at the Iloilo provincial capitol after Iloilo Gov. Niel Tupas Sr. vowed to defy a dismissal order related to graft charges that is expected to be served today by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

"I cannot follow an illegal order and I will not step down. Never," Tupas said in a telephone interview.

Tupas said he does not know what offense he has committed or the case that was used as the basis of the dismissal order.

DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Wencelito Andanar said his office received the decision from the Ombudsman last Friday ordering Tupas' dismissal for graft. The dismissal order was among those sent to the DILG office along with the orders to suspend Batangas Gov. Armand Sanchez for corruption charges and for several other local officials.

Andanar, who is still in Cebu attending the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nation's Summit, said he did not know of the details of the case against Tupas because he left for Cebu on Thursday.

"We will come out with our implementation order based on the Ombudsman decision on Monday," Andanar said in a telephone interview.

Virginia Palanca-Santiago, Deputy Ombudsman-Visayas said she did not know what case was the basis for the dismissal order against Tupas.

"The governor has many pending cases and we had forwarded our findings and recommendations to our central office, which is the one that announces the findings," Santiago said in a telephone interview. She refused to give the details of the cases because several of them are still under investigation.

Tupas said he will accept a copy of the Ombudsman's decision if it served at his office but not a dismissal order.

He also said he will not vacate his post because, under the rules of the Ombudsman, he is given 15 days to file a motion for reconsideration. He said he has also the option to question the order in court by filing for a petition for review.

Tupas said the dismissal is a case of "political persecution and harassment" because of his close association with former Senate President Franklin Drilon.

The two, along with the Drilon bloc in the Liberal Party, broke ties with President Macapagal-Arroyo and called for her resignation on July 2005 at the height of the political crisis stemming from the allegations of electoral fraud in the 2004 elections against the President.

He said the administration also resorted to this move because it could not field any candidate to run against him in the May elections.

The governor blamed Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, a staunch ally of the President, for instigating the dismissal order.

"He (Gonzalez) wants to lord it over the province as well because he already is in control of Iloilo City," said Tupas.

Gonzalez denied any knowledge of the order.

"Why blame me? It was the Ombudsman who issued the decision, not my office. There's no logic there," said Gonzalez in a telephone interview.

He admitted that he created a special investigating committee to look into graft allegations against Tupas related to contributions to activities of the board member's league in the region two years ago. But he said it is the Ombudsman that issues the decisions on such cases.

Andanar said the order will be issued by DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno and will be implemented by the agency's regional office in Iloilo City.

But provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada said they received reports that Puno will serve the order.

Andanar said they will still study the implementation of the order against Sanchez, but the one against Tupas is not covered by the election ban on sanctions against elective officials because it involves dismissal from office.

Section 261 of Article XXII of the Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881) forbids the suspension of elective officials during the election period which started yesterday until June 13.

Andanar said Tupas will "only add to his problems" if he refuses to comply with the dismissal order. "He will be liable for obstruction of justice."

Tupas is in his second term of office and has announced that he will run for a third term in the May elections.

He belongs to one of Iloilo's political clans. He served for three terms as congressman before he became governor.

His son, Raul, is the mayor of Barotac Viejo town, while another son Niel Jr. is a member of the provincial board. Iloilo Representative and opposition leader Rolex Sulpico also his nephew.*NPB

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