Mendoza stays as Bulacan guv for now

THE High Court issued Tuesday a seven-day status quo ante order restoring to Bulacan Governor Joselito Mendoza the top provincial government position amid the planned takeover of his political rival Roberto Pagdanganan.

Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the justices unanimously ruled to issue the status quo ante order following the regular en banc session of the Supreme Court (SC).

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Marquez said the SC took note of Mendoza’s supplemental petition, which was filed on Monday, seeking to stop the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from carrying out its decision declaring Pagdangan as the rightful governor of Bulacan.

“This means that the conditions prevailing at the time the petition was filed shall remain. The case will be taken up again by the court on Tuesday. The court will then exert all efforts to decide the case on the merits. So for the time being, it is still Governor Mendoza who shall continue as governor of Bulacan,” he said.

Marquez said that in the next en banc session, the court will decide whether or not to grant or dismiss Mendoza’s petition, or extend the status quo ante order, taking into consideration all the pleadings filed on the case.

Earlier, the High Court did not grant Mendoza’s petition for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop the Comelec from implementing its resolution declaring Pagdanganan as duly-elected governor of the province.

Mendoza’s failure to obtain a TRO prompted the Comelec to issue a writ of execution dated March 5 declaring that Pagdanganan may already assume the functions of governor, causing grave and irreparable damage to him and to Bulacan electorate.

In his 16-page supplemental position, Mendoza through lawyer Sixto Brillantes sought a TRO in order to maintain the status quo in the province so as to prevent bloodshed during a standoff between their supporters’ camps.

Mendoza also sought an order from the court compelling Pagdanganan to cease and desist from “usurping, assuming and performing the functions of the contested position” until the election protest has been ruled with finality by the SC.

The supplemental petition was filed on the day Pagdanganan was supposed to take over the reins of the provincial Capitol.

DILG to follow SC ruling

For its part, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Tuesday the agency will abide on the decision of the SC allowing beleaguered Mendoza to hold on to his post until next week.

“We will follow the Supreme Court order as what the DILG said in an earlier statement. For now, both camps should respect the ruling,” Undersecretary for Local Government Austere Panadero told Sun.Star in a text message.

Court spokesman Marquez said the TRO is effective until March 15, pending deliberations on Mendoza’s petition.

Earlier, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said the DILG will follow “by whatever decision the Supreme Court will issue” concerning Mendoza’s petition to stop Pagdanganan from assuming the post.

But the DILG might seek a legal clarification on the ruling because Pagdanganan has already taken his oath of office.

“We will move forward firmly to enforce the lawful decision of the lawful authority, in this case, the Comelec, or the Supreme Court, as the case may warrant,” Puno said in a statement.

No politics involved

Puno reiterated that “no politics is involved in the DILG’s actions.”

Pagdanganan, he noted, belongs to the Nacionalista Party, while Mendoza is now allied with the Liberal Party (LP).

The opposition LP had repeatedly said the successive removal of three LP-allied governors only showed that the Arroyo administration is serious in harassing the camp of party standard-bearer Senator Noynoy Aquino.

Aside from Mendoza, the Comelec nullified the terms of two-time Isabela Governor Grace Padaca and Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio in separate recounts.

The Comelec ruled in favor of Benjamin Dy as Isabela governor-elect, while Lilia “Baby” Pineda won by a slight margin over Panlilio in Pampanga. Both Dy and Pineda are close allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Puno also clarified that the recent reorganization of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Central Luzon, including the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga, had nothing to do with the dispute involving Mendoza and Pagdanganan.

“In fact, both Pagdanganan and Mendoza had wanted the old PNP provincial director in Bulacan retained, but both requests went unheeded,” he said.

The reshuffling was done to ensure a non-partisan police force during the election period, according to the DILG chief.

The Comelec had declared last February 8 that Pagdanganan, who garnered 342,321 votes, was the rightful winner in the 2007 gubernatorial race in Bulacan after scoring a margin of 4,321 votes against Mendoza, who got 337,974 votes.

Before the reversal, Mendoza won in 14 out of 24 towns, barely beating Pagdanganan.

Mendoza received 364,566 votes while Pagdanganan got 348,834 votes. (ECV/Virgil Lopez/With Press release/Sunnex)