Friday, October 26, 2007 Old electioneering case forms part of village chief’s defense
THE hearing on the disqualification case against Guadalupe, Cebu City Barangay Captain Eugenio Faelnar at the Provincial Election Office yesterday afternoon ended with him and petitioner Salvador Solima posing for the camera and raising each other’s hands like bosom buddies.
Solima submitted his four-page position paper while Faelnar, accompanied by lawyer Julius Ceasar Entise, presented 10 items of evidence showing that Faelnar failed to sit as Guadalupe barangay captain for nine months after winning in the 1997 elections.
Faelnar will submit his position paper today.
The evidence he and Entise presented include a barangay resolution authorizing then first councilor Alex Semilla to encash a check—since Faelnar, the duly elected barangay captain, was not proclaimed because of an electioneering complaint he faced.
Then barangay councilor Anthony Luy filed the complaint, which was resolved in February 1998, nine months after the elections.
Faelnar used that episode as part of his argument that he can still run in the elections this Monday.
Under the law, those who were barangay captains since 1994 and whose terms were uninterrupted can no longer run for the same position.
But Faelnar argued that there was an interruption in his three terms.
Solima said he expects the Comelec to come up with a decision within the week. He said the P200,000 in damages Faelnar asked for does not bother him.
What next?
The law, he added, is categorical and did not specify any qualification in the provision that a barangay official who already served three consecutive terms is barred from seeking another term.
Provincial Election Officer Lionel Marco Castillano said he will come up with a recommendation before the Oct. 29 elections.
But it is the Comelec Manila that will decide on the issue, he said.
“I can do it before the elections. But I can only make recommendations and submit them to the clerk of the Commission,” he said, adding that only two Comelec divisions hear disqualification complaints from all over the country.
If there is no decision until the day of the elections, Faelnar will remain a valid candidate, Castillano said.
And if Faelnar wins but ends up disqualified, the rule on succession will apply.
This means that the elected first councilor will replace him and not anyone among the contenders for the post.
“No problem. I have a lot of faith in the people of Guadalupe,” Solima said.
Aside from Solima, Semilla and First Councilor Ben Baculi are also running for Guadalupe barangay captain.
But Faelnar said he is confident that the estimated 30,000 Guadalupe voters will still pick him among the four hopefuls.
“My only wish is for them to let me finish my last term. I still have a lot of unfinished projects,” he told Sun.Star after the hearing in Castillano’s office. (RHM)
