Saturday, May 26, 2007 Radaza proclaimed at last By Allan I. Varquez Sun.Star Staff Reporter
CITING a missed deadline for filing an appeal, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday ordered the proclamation of winners in Lapu-Lapu City, nearly two weeks after the polls.
“With a new mandate, we will file a motion for the Office of the Ombudsman to lift its suspension order, invoking the Aguinaldo doctrine,” said lawyer Richard Sison, speaking for Mayor Arturo Radaza.
Radaza was proclaimed at 1:20 a.m., hours after he gathered some 2,000 supporters outside City Hall. He has been serving, since April, a six-month preventive suspension over the allegedly overpriced purchase of decorative lamps.
“This only proves the people didn’t believe the accusations against me,” said Radaza, in a rare interview.
His running mate, Mario Amores, was proclaimed vice mayor, with 56,637 votes. All but one of his candidates for councilor made it, with former congressman Efren Herrera being the only opposition candidate to make it to the council.
Lawyers for Acting Mayor Norma Patalinjug had until Thursday to file a memorandum of appeal on two petitions previously denied by the city’s Board of Canvassers.
Apart from questioning the composition of the canvassers’ board, Patalinjug’s camp also asked that 157 “fabricated, falsified or tampered” election returns (ERs) be excluded from the canvassing. When the board denied the second petition, Patalinjug’s lawyers submitted a notice of appeal last May 19.
Under the rules, her lawyers had five days from the last notice of appeal to file a written memorandum of appeal.
As of 5 p.m. last May 24, however, the commission did not receive any such appeal, said an order issued yesterday by Commissioner Resurreccion Borra and handcarried to Lapu-Lapu City by Election Officer Ann Janette Hu-Lamban.
“There being no perfected appeal, Board of Canvassers’ rulings are considered final and executory,” the order said.
When the canvassing ended last May 18, Radaza had 61,835 votes, compared to Patalinjug’s 47,255. One of Patalin-jug’s claims was that the total number of mayoral votes cast had reached 187,000, or way beyond the number of registered voters (148,870) in the city.
Upon arriving at 9:45 last night from Manila, Atty. Lamban convened the watchers of both parties and ordered the tallying of all votes, including those contested.
As the tallying resumed at the session hall, Radaza, his candidates for councilor and supporters waited outside for the proclamation. At least 50 policemen stood on guard.
Lawyer Hippocrates Rocina of One Cebu-Kampi said they will raise the same arguments in their election contest.
Under the Aguinaldo doctrine, his reelection absolves Radaza of any administrative liabilities in whatever cases he may be facing before the ombudsman. Any criminal liabilities, however, still remain. (AIV)
