The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal from service of Urdaneta City Mayor Julio Fernandez Parayno III, Vice Mayor Jimmy Parayno, and six city councilors for defying a Malacañang suspension order, according to a consolidated decision dated April 15 that surfaced publicly this week.
The ruling, first reported by INQUIRER.net and corroborated by the Daily Tribune, ends a nearly two-year standoff that paralyzed the top leadership of one of Pangasinan's busiest cities. The Paraynos, who are cousins according to INQUIRER.net, were found guilty of grave misconduct. The councilors were held liable for gross neglect of duty.
How the standoff began
The trouble traces back to a complaint filed in October 2022 by barangay chairman Michael Brian Perez, who had been placed under indefinite suspension that June after a manifesto sought his removal as president of the Liga ng mga Barangay. That post automatically made him an ex-officio member of the city council.
Perez argued that both the national Liga and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) backed his position, and that the DILG found no legal basis for his suspension. His complaint eventually reached Malacañang.
On January 3, 2025, the Office of the President found the Paraynos liable for grave misconduct and grave abuse of authority. It ordered each of them suspended for six months, a total of 12 months for the city's top two posts, and directed the DILG to implement the order.
Locked doors and posted orders
What happened next reads like something out of a local political drama. When DILG personnel tried to serve the suspension documents on January 7, 2025, the mayor's staff refused to receive them. The vice mayor's office was locked and chained. The DILG resorted to posting copies of the order on the office doors.
The Paraynos argued they had never been personally served and questioned the enforcement of a suspension during the election period. The Ombudsman was not persuaded. The decision cited a subsequent court ruling upholding the posting of the documents as valid constructive service.
The Ombudsman also pointed to Mayor Parayno's continued exercise of official functions: signing disbursement vouchers, issuing a business permit, and appearing at a flag-raising ceremony alongside the vice mayor. The officials' claim of good faith was rejected; the Ombudsman found that refusing the orders and continuing to govern amounted to intentional wrongdoing.
The Paraynos finally stepped aside on March 31, 2025, after the DILG designated councilors Rio Virgilio Esteves and Blesildo Sumera as acting mayor and acting vice mayor. Both Paraynos were reelected in May 2025.
The councilors who would not step up
The six councilors were dismissed for a different reason: they refused to take over. Under the Local Government Code, the highest-ranking members of the city council must assume the responsibilities of a suspended mayor or vice mayor.
The DILG first designated Franco Paolo Del Prado and Warren Andrada, then Aurelio Agsalud and Franklin Villanueva. When those orders went nowhere, the department turned to Jhan Hero Sumera and Alfonso Miguel Del Prado, who formally declined in a joint letter dated March 25, 2025, arguing there were no vacancies to fill.
The Ombudsman found that the councilors deliberately avoided receiving the designation orders and rejected their argument that the case had become moot because city hall kept running.
What the penalties mean
Dismissal is the heaviest administrative penalty on the books, and it arrives with consequences that outlast the term of office. The eight officials face cancellation of civil service eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, a ban on taking civil service examinations, and forfeiture of retirement benefits.
The Ombudsman did dismiss other charges against the Paraynos, including grave abuse of authority, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, conduct unbecoming of a public official, and disgraceful and immoral conduct, for insufficient evidence.
According to Rappler, the copy of the decision reviewed bears a certification stamp dated September 28, 2026, and a receiving stamp dated October 13, 2026. It remains unclear whether any of the respondents have appealed or sought reconsideration.
Why this matters beyond Pangasinan
For a country that has fought long battles against local dynasties and officials who treat public office as personal property, the decision sends a blunt message. A suspension order is not a suggestion. Chains on a office door do not suspend the law.
It is also a test of whether accountability can survive the electoral cycle. The Paraynos were reelected in May 2025 while their case was pending. Voters in Urdaneta now face the prospect of a city run by officials whose hold on power has been formally declared unacceptable by two separate institutions, Malacañang and the Ombudsman.
The DILG, which bore the brunt of the defiance, will presumably oversee the transition. Who steps in as mayor, and whether the dismissed officials mount a legal challenge, will determine whether Urdaneta gets stable governance or another season of limbo.
Frequently asked questions
Why were the Urdaneta City mayor and vice mayor dismissed?
The Ombudsman found them guilty of grave misconduct for continuing to perform their duties despite a 12-month suspension ordered by Malacañang in January 2025.
What penalties do the dismissed officials face?
They lose civil service eligibility, are perpetually disqualified from public office, are barred from taking civil service examinations, and forfeit their retirement benefits.
Why were the six councilors also dismissed?
The Ombudsman found them guilty of gross neglect of duty for refusing DILG orders designating them to temporarily replace the suspended mayor and vice mayor, as required by the Local Government Code.