Tuesday, October 21, 2008 Malilong: Recall revisited By Frank Malilong The Other Side
THE Local Government Code has devoted an entire chapter to the power of the people to recall an elected local official. The empowerment is, however, more illusory than real. Here’s why.
The recall process can be initiated either by the preparatory recall assembly or by at least 25 percent of the total number of registered voters of the concerned local government unit.
In the city, the preparatory recall assembly is composed of all the barangay captains and councilors. The law requires the assent of a majority of all these village officials regardless of whether they attended the initiatory recall session or not, for the recall process to move to the next level. Under a political setup where barangay officials owe their election to the city mayor and councilors, getting the majority vote is next to impossible.
So you go to the second mode of preliminary recall which is the direct petition by at least 25 percent of the registered voters. Note that it is not enough that you gather the signatures you have to submit them to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for verification.
The Comelec is required to cause the publication of the petition “in a public and conspicuous place” for a period of not less than 10 days nor more than 20 days. After the publication, the Comelec will start checking if 1) the signatures are authentic and genuine and 2) they have met the required number of 25 percent.
Once the Comelec is satisfied that all the requirements of the preliminary recall have been met, it will set the date for the recall election which, in the case of a city official, is not later than 30 days after the filing of the petition.
Here’s the tricky part: The Local Government Code says that all expenses incident to recall elections shall be borne by the Comelec. The law does provide for a contingency fund that is at the disposal of the poll body to be included in the budget. Everyone knows however that a budgetary appropriation and cash are two completely different animals.
Even assuming that cash is immediately available, the holding of a recall election within the period suggested by law is not guaranteed. Why? A smart and imaginative counsel for the official who is the subject of recall proceedings can delay the process every step of the way.
The issue will most probably go all the way up to the Supreme Court so that by the time it is resolved, the next election is already just around the corner.
The law is supposed to give teeth to the people’s exercise of their sovereign power but between theory and practice unfortunately lies a huge gap.
