MANDAUE City Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede will assume the post of Acting Mayor following the one-year suspension of Mayor Jonas Cortes.
Bercede, in a phone interview with SunStar Cebu on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024, confirmed that he had already received the order from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7.
In a memorandum issued by DILG 7 Director Leocadio Trovela on Aug. 24, addressed to Bercede, it stated that the “Vice Mayor assumes as Acting Mayor based on the rule on automatic succession.”
A portion of the document added that the decision was delivered to Cortes on Aug. 21, which resulted in a vacancy in the position.
Under Section 46 (a) of the Local Government Code, Bercede is immediately to assume the powers and duties of the City Mayor in an acting capacity.
On Aug. 21, the Office of the Ombudsman suspended Cortes for one year for grave misconduct after he appointed an officer-in-charge for the City Social Welfare Services Office (CSWSO), which was ruled to be unlawful, in 2022.
Cortes earlier said he expected the order but was surprised by the length of the suspension, which he will appeal.