By NITZ ARANCON Correspondent A STANDOFF in the seat of government of the town of Ditsaan Ramain, Lanao del Sur due to the order of the ombudsman to dismiss its mayor has been going on for over a month now but despite eight motions aimed at securing a temporary retraining order (TRO), there is still no word from the Court of Appeals (CA). Mayor Ali Adiong, the local chief executive ordered dismissed by the ombudsman, said tension has gripped the town, and he feared the situation could go out of control in the coming days unless the CA acted on the petition. “Akong gitambagan ang akong mga supporters nga  magkalma lang ug ilang i-observe kanunay ang maximum tolerance  taliwala sa sitwasyon didto sa among lungsod karon,” Adiong told a news conference here yesterday morning. Adiong said townsfolk have set up a barricade outside the town hall, and he feared they could clash with supporters of the town’s vice mayor, Anna Mahlyne Macarampat, who has assumed as the local chief executive in Nov. 10. Adiong was given a dismissal order by the Office of the Ombudsman last month in connection with the case for grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct, and oppression filed by Sultan Ashary Maongco, former manager of the Lanao del Sur Rural Electric Cooperative (Lasureco). The mayor was accused of being behind the burning of a Lasureco boom truck in his town, a charge vehemently denied by Adiong. He said, “I swear to God nga wala ako magsunog sa boom truck sa Lasureco,   and I can prove nga wala akoy kalabotan anang maong insidente.” His lawyer, Aimee Torrefranca-Neri, said Adiong filed a motion for reconsideration in Oct. 23 after he received a copy of the ombudsman’s order. Neri said they then filed a petition for certiorari with a prayer for a preliminary  mandatory injunction and issuance of a TRO before the appellate court in Cagayan de Oro in Nov. 17. The case is pending before the 23rd Division of the CA in this city. Neri said they sought a TRO because the ombudsman missed out the counter affidavit submitted by Adiong. What happened to Adiong, she said, is similar to Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno’s case. Neri questioned Macarampat’s assumption as mayor, saying it was premature. “Mi-assume siya (Macarampat) sa pagka mayor Nov. 10 apan ang DILG nagsulat kanako ug nagsulti nga niadtong Nov. 17, ang DILG wala  pa  makadawat sa decision sa ombudsman,” she said. Neri said she was dismayed over the delay in the CA’s action on their petition, adding that she submitted at least eight motions just to ask the appellate court to act. “Pero wala pa man gyud mahatagig action sa CA hangtud karon ang among petition. Nabalaka na kami nga  mosamot ang kabubot ang mga tawo didto sa  maong lungsod,” Neri said.