Saturday, May 31, 2008 Editorial: And the winner is...
THE final word on the electoral rigmarole in Magalang is that there is no final word on it yet.
The recent outcome of this confusing and frustrating musical chair on the mayoralty has previously proclaimed-then-unseated Mayor Lyndon Cunanan being reinstated to his office by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The DILG put Cunanan back at the helm on the basis of an injunction issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) working the clock back to the time before a regional trial court (RTC) in Angeles City declared Cunanan's rival, businessman Romulo Pecson, as the winner.
It was the same agency that evicted Cunanan from his office last March following the latter's failure to get the injunction he prayed for before the poll body at the time that he badly needed it.
So much for justice delayed.
This time, the situation seems to be more complicated and confusing - a sure recipe for disorder and violence.
As the Comelec stated in its en banc decision, both Cunanan and Pecson were considered presumptive winners. In simple terms, either could end up the winner, whatever the grounds the Comelec has for stating so.
Why it chose to favor Cunanan over Pecson, in the meantime, is arguably apparently a matter of law, and not yet, of merits.
How long it will take the poll body to decide the case on its merits, it's anybody's guess. The protagonists and their camps, in particular, and the rest of the people of Magalang, in general, could only wish it would be sooner than later.
Until that happens, anything can happen in this once peaceful town. For, right now, the quite unwieldy and troublesome situation is that Pecson refuses to vacate his post, the DILG order notwithstanding.
Pecson's lawyer is contesting the order as illegal, apart from repeatedly saying that the Comelec decision was not executory and that his client was entitled to 30-day grace period within which to seek relief from the Supreme Court (SC).
In the meantime, Cunanan is holding office somewhere in the municipal compound, surrounded by loyal and battle-ready supporters who, if given the chance, could make things rough for Pecson and his followers.
One could imagine a possible unpleasant outcome.
With no clear winner yet in sight, it has already become a losing game for the most part for the people of Magalang.
