Rama to file disqualification case vs. Pe

SINCE Councilor Jun Augustus Pe announced he is running for councilor in the south district, Team Rama has been contemplating on opposing his move.

After the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) last Friday, Mayor Michael Rama told reporters yesterday he will ask his lawyers to look into the possibility of filing a case against Pe.

Rama needs to do it soon because the rules state that a petition for disqualification should be filed within five days from the filing of the COC.

Pe hopes Team Rama will just let the people decide if he should be elected councilor for the south district after serving three terms in the north.

“We have a legal team and we will be pursuing legal action,” Rama said in a press conference yesterday.

“Both parties have filed their respective COCs. It is clear that both parties have already submitted their list of candidates for the coming elections for the people to choose from,” Pe’s text message in Bisaya read.

“Pasagdan nalang unta nato ang maalam nga mga botante sa Syudad sa Sugbo nga maoy mohukom og kinsa ilang ibutang sa pwesto (They should just let the voters of Cebu City judge whom they want to elect for the position),” said Pe.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 Director Temie Lambino said a petition for disqualification would be a good remedy for jurisprudence to be put in place to solve similar problems in other parts of the country.

“This is a common problem in other areas with two or more legislative districts… Filing a petition for disqualification is a remedy to know if there is a need to disqualify,” Lambino said in a radio interview.

Manila

The petition, though, will have to be filed before the Commission Clerk of Court or Comelec en banc.

If Team Rama decides to file the petition in Comelec 7 or Cebu City offices, the local offices’ duty is limited to reception.

The local offices will have to forward the petition to Manila and it will be the Comelec en banc that will resolve the case.

Team Rama will have until Wednesday to file the petition, said Comelec north district election officer Marchel Sarno.

When told that there is a limited time to file the petition, Rama said he will ask his lawyers to look into it right away.

Pe said this is just democracy in action.

If he has the right to run for councilor then other people have the right to oppose his candidacy.

“In the end, the voice of the people of Cebu will be heard,” Pe said.

Same people

When he transferred his registration from the north district of Cebu City to the south district, Pe based his plan to seek a fresh term for the same position but in a separate district on a Supreme Court ruling and the opinion of Comelec Chairman Sixto
Brillantes.

A Supreme Court ruling disallowed an incumbent mayor from running for the same position after serving three terms. The mayor’s basis was that he was mayor for three terms in a municipality but then the local government unit (LGU) became a city.

The Supreme Court ruled, though, that even if the municipality has been upgraded to a city, the constituency remained the same.

In Pe’s case, there will be a different set of constituents, which also mirrored the opinion of Brillantes, who said a councilor is not barred from running for the same position albeit in a different district of the same LGU.