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Wednesday, April 18, 2007
High Court rules: Drilon is still LP head
MANILA — The Supreme Court (SC) affirmed Tuesday the leadership of former Senate president Franklin Drilon as president of the Liberal Party (LP) saying his was not a mere holdover position.
Voting 9-5, with one abstention, the SC en banc granted Drilon’s petition seeking to restrain the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from implementing its resolution ordering the election of new set of officers after a leadership dispute erupted between Drilon and Manila Mayor Jose “Lito” Atienza.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
In a resolution, the High Court denied Atienza’s claim that Drilon’s term of office to serve as party president should have ended last July 2006 since he merely assumed the remaining 22 days of the three-year term of then-LP president Florencio Abad, who was forced to leave the party when he was appointed to the Education portfolio.
According to the SC, Drilon has until Nov. 30, 2007 to serve his term as head of the party under Daza-Drilon constitution, which has effectively replaced the Salonga constitution.
Under the Salonga constitution, Drilon is deemed chairman of the party in a holdover capacity, in which the election of party officers could be fixed by the poll body.
On the other hand, in the Daza constitution, there was no such thing as a holdover position so that Drilon could serve a full term as party chair from Sept. 8, 2004 up to November 2007.
The SC also held that the Comelec has jurisdiction over the petition of Drilon questioning Atienza’s election as party president during a meeting attended by the members of the National Executive Council on March 2, 2006.
The election was conducted in response to Drilon’s announcement on July 8, 2005 that the LP was calling for President Arroyo’s resignation following the “Hello Garci” wiretapping controversy, which Atienza had questioned because he said the party had not been consulted about it.
The SC, however, declared moot the issue on whether the Comelec has jurisdiction to order the LP to hold the election of its officers.
“On the first issue, the court voted 7-6 that the Comelec has jurisdiction over the Drilon petition. On the second issue, the Court voted 9-5 that the Daza-Drilon amendments were validly ratified. In view of the voting on the second issue, the third issue has become academic,” the SC said.
In a minute resolution promulgated on March 13, 2007, the SC remanded to the poll body the petition filed by Drilon assailing the order of the poll body calling for the election of new party officers.
The SC, in that ruling, upheld the jurisdiction of the Comelec over the ongoing leadership dispute within the LP and likewise directed the poll body to receive further evidence on the case and determine whether or not the Daza-Drilon amendments to the Salonga constitution have been duly ratified.
On November 2006, the Court granted the petition of Drilon for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) enjoining the Comelec from supervising the elections of the LP scheduled on Nov. 13, 2006.
The TRO was issued following the filing of a petition for certiorari and prohibition by the camp Drilon questioning the authority of Comelec in calling for the elections of the party officers. (ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Bacolod. (April 18, 2007 issue)
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