Mayor Pedro Palacios appointed an interim chief this week and that caused controversy in the capital of Azuay.
Cuenca
Patricio Lucero returned to his office this Thursday morning and the first chief in charge of the Cuenca Fire Department, Jorge Torres, appointed temporarily this week by Mayor Pedro Palacios, returned to his post in the Prevention Department.
Lucero, who had finished his five-year term in accordance with the law, according to the mayor of Cuenca, filed a protection action in the Provincial Court of Justice and obtained his reinstatement as the first head of the fire department.
For this controversial case, the parties will meet again at a hearing on January 7, 2022.
Mayor Palacios’ decision to appoint Torres as head of firefighters was based on articles 55, 59 and 104 of the Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization (Cootad).
Controversy in Cuenca over the appointment of the interim chief of the Fire Department
There it is established that Firefighters are public entities governed by the Municipality. Also, in the thirteenth provision of the Organic Code of Citizen Security and Public Order Entities (Coescop), which states: “In the event of the vacancy of the highest authority of conduction and command of the complementary security entity, it will be substituted by the official of greater antiquity for a period of no more than thirty days… ”.
Juan Francisco Delgado, lawyer for Patricio Lucero, said that for the next hearing they will use as an element of defense the violation of acquired rights, based on Resolution 006 2020 issued by the General Secretariat for Risk Management, where it is detailed that the Fire chiefs who were in office at the time of enactment (January 2020) have the right to continue in their functions for four more years, which in this case would be until 2024.
In reply, the Municipal Trustee, Lizandro Martínez, dismissed the ruling because, from his point of view, a resolution is legally inferior in relation to the Constitution, laws and municipal ordinances, aspects on which they based their decision to dismiss Lucero .
Therefore, for the hearing next January the Municipality will take two main arguments: having informed that the period ended and having appointed a manager based on the provisions of the laws and the administrative and financial autonomy that the Municipality has over the Firefighters.
Meanwhile, the process to form a commission that appoints a first incumbent chief is suspended. (I)
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