ARMM officials laud SC ruling in Marawi City Dep-Ed official

COTABATO CITY– Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday lauded the Supreme Court ruling deniying thepetition for review on certiorari filed by former Marawi City Schools Division Superintendent Mona A. Macatanong.The said petition assailed the Court of Appeals' decision annulling the judgment rendered by the Regional Trial Court of Marawi, Branch 9, which granted her petition for correction of her date of birth in public records.Macatanong has been ordered to vacate her office in May 2014 after she turned 65 years old, the compulsory retirement age for government employees, on October 2013. She resisted and insisted on the correction of her date of birth, as affirmed by the RTC Marawi, in order to extend her tenure until 2016.The resolution of the high court regarding Macatanong’s case was issued last 10 February 2016.Apart from denying Macatanong’s petition for cetiorari, the high court also directed the Office of the Court Administrator and the Office of the Bar Confidant to conduct an investigation regarding the the RTC Marawi, Branch 9’s highly questionable” handling of Macatanong’s petition for correction of her date of birth.The said investigation ordered by the Supreme Court may lead to the filing of administrative and criminal charges against Judge Gamor Disalo.Amir Mawallil, ARMM regional spokesperson, welcomed the decision of the high court. That the high court will decide in our favor regarding this case was expected. It has been two years since the legal proceedings regarding Macatanong’s tenure as schools division superintendent began and this is a welcome development that will set the record straight once and for all,” Mawallil said.Secretary John Magno of the Department of Education-ARMM also expressed his relief following the Supreme Court decision. The ARMM government, especially the regional Department of Education, knew from the very start that Macatanong’s resistance regarding her retirement lacked merit. We pursued legal action because we knew that the rule of law was on our side, and this Supreme Court decision affirms our position,” said Magno.Macatanong’s case has caused a backlog in the Marawi City Schools Division as it interrupted the process of promotion among teachers mandated by law.