The struggle for control of San Pablo City’s highest office has reached a bizarre new direction.
This, after two of its highest officials are now slated for suspension after months of charges and countercharges before the Office of the Ombudsman.
Barely a month after Mayor Arcadio “Najie” Gapangada was served with a six-month suspension by the Ombudsman, it was Vice Mayor and Acting Mayor Justin Colago’s turn to be suspended, according to sources.
In a statement issued Friday, July 31, Gapangada claimed that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)’s local government office in San Pablo City has allegedly received a copy of the suspension order.
The suspended mayor also alleged that the order has yet to be implemented, pending a formal directive from the DILG’s central office in Manila.
To recall, Gapangada himself filed a formal case at the Ombudsman against Colago, for seven counts of malversation of public funds through falsification of public and/or official documents and violation of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The charge against Colago centers on his alleged use of “ghost employees” inside the Office of the Vice Mayor, charges the vice-mayor had denied.
As of press time (Friday, June 31), Colago has yet to issue an official statement regarding the alleged suspension order against him.
New chapter
The alleged suspension order against Colago is a new twist in the ongoing story of a power struggle inside San Pablo City – a power struggle that started last year when Gapangada defeated former Mayor Vicente Amante in a very close race in the May 2025 midterm polls.
Since then, Gapangada and Colago, who had been Amante’s running mate, had been under loggerheads.
There have been accusations that Colago and certain members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod have served as “roadblocks” against Gapangada’s programs, mostly aimed at reforming a local governance system that has been used by a political dynasty for a long time.
Last Christmas, Gapangada had accused Colago and the Sangguniang Panglungsod of blocking the use of the city’s Gender and Development (GAD) fund for the distribution of Pamaskong Handog packs.
More recently, Colago himself questioned the decision of the city government to procure a P1.8-billion loan for the construction of a proposed agro-industrial economic park in the city.
Wheel of Fortune 2
Suspension order
The political saga reached its first climax last July 14 when Gapangada was served with a six-month suspension order by the Ombudsman, based on charges filed by Colago himself against the city executive.
The charges of grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and oppression centered on the alleged abuses on the deployment of "job-order employees" by Gapangada.
Colago claimed that the "job-order employees" allegedly employed by Gapangada not only robbed legitimate and long-time employees of promotion chances but were also allegedly paid more than regular employees.
Gapangada, on the other hand, alleged "unfair treatment" on the charges he and Colago filed at each other before the Ombudsman.
The suspended mayor claimed that the charges filed against him by Colago last June 26 were acted up speedily, in contrast to his own case against the vice-mayor.
Who will lead?
The question now hounding San Pableños is this: if the suspension order against Colago is served, who will take over the helm at City Hall for the next six months?
To recall, Councilor Carmela Acebedo had been delegated as acting Vice Mayor after Colago was designated as acting Mayor by the DILG.
It remains to be seen as of press time how this new saga in the ongoing power struggle inside San Pablo City will affect the local government's performance of its duties, as well as in delivering much-needed basic services to its residents.
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