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Sunday, July 10, 2005
21T names needed to start mayor's recall: poll body
By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday that around 21,000 signatures of registered Baguio City voters are only needed to have the recall election initiated against Mayor Braulio Yaranon acted on by their central office.
Comelec Regional Director Armando Velasco said the recall would be possible if at least 15 percent or 20,942 out of Baguio's 139,609 registered voters would affix their signatures on a petition reportedly being passed around by leaders of multi-sectoral groups in the city.
"Loss of confidence and no other reason may be used as a ground for recall under the Local Government Code. Walang bearing ang (It has no bearing on) criminal, civil or administrative cases here," he added.
Velasco said in the past, the signatures of a majority or "50 percent plus one" of all barangay officials was only needed to initiate a recall election on any local government official. "However, with the issuance of Resolution 075-05 by the Comelec en banc on June 6 this year, this was changed."
He said "with this new amendment, in the case of Baguio, we only need 15 percent of its registered voters. Without this, we cannot initiate recall procedures."
Velasco also said a recall procedure may only be started one year after the concerned official assumes office and would not be allowed anymore after the same official finishes his or her second year in office.
"In the case of Mayor Yaranon, the recall process may only be allowed (starting) on July 1 this year (until June 30 next year)," he added.
"Once this document is submitted to our office for verification of voters' signatures, the way the recall petition is signed would determine how long it would take us to act on it. If the names and signatures of the petitioners are arranged per voting precinct, we may be able to verify their signatures within only two weeks. However, if these same names and signatures are listed haphazardly, it would take a much longer time because we would still have to search and compare signatures per barangay or voting precinct," Velasco said.
As of the last election, he bared, Baguio City had 712 clustered precincts. "If we were not allowed to cluster them, the number of voting precincts here even reached as much as 780 in previous elections," he said.
Velasco revealed that, on the average, only 69.01 percent of Baguio voters actually exercised their right to suffrage in the past electoral polls.
This developed, just as Councilor Elmer Datuin, who earlier admitted to be supporting this recall move against Yaranon, said that "what has dismayed many constituents (here) is the level and pace of corruption that has permeated (every) nook and cranny of the City Mayor's Office, reportedly perpetrated by the city's version of Kamag-anak, Incorporated. The unaccounted funds from the 2005 Panagbenga clearly (show) the footprints of a Holy Trinity cornering shady business deals whose stink cries to high heaven."
He added that time and again, people from all walks of life - like students, elderly citizens, market vendors, tourism shop owners, traders and the like - have reportedly been telling him that they felt so ashamed of the city where they live, study, work and do business in.
"Do nothing ang City Hall sa mga kailangan naming (The City Hall has not done anything with regard our needs). For a city that addresses our concerns, no decisions are made, except those that pertain to a pay parking company, over which it can not even fulfill his election promise of ejecting it out of the city," Datuin said.
(July 8, 2005 issue)
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