IT’S a recurring theme: as soon as the period for the filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) is over, petitions for disqualification follow. In Cebu alone, four candidates have been named respondents in separate petitions filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila this week, and the number is expected to grow in the next two or three weeks.
Complaints to deny due course or to cancel a COC were supposed to be filed within five days from the last day of the filing of the COCs, according to Comelec Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano, but there is a Supreme Court ruling, he said, that extended the period to 25 days from the date of the filing of the disputed COC.
That means former governor Gwendolyn Garcia, who is facing two disqualification cases, might be sued many more times, a possibility that her opponent for governor, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, hinted at in an interview with a local daily.
Not that the number of suits matters in resolving the issue of qualification. In the case of Garcia, the two petitions so far filed against her are based on her being barred from holding public office by the Ombudsman. Subsequent petitions, if any, are not expected to stray from this narrative and the Comelec will decide only on that basis.
Still, the filing of multiple petitions has a propaganda value in that it gives the impression that many people agree that a candidate is disqualified and that, therefore, it is pointless to vote for the candidate because she is going to be disqualified anyway.
There is no denying the Ombudsman decision dismissing Garcia from the service and barring her perpetually from holding any public office, whether elective or appointive. The decision is, however, pending appeal and Garcia says that because of this, it is not yet final and executory.
There have been a number of cases where the official who has been disciplined by the Ombudsman was made to immediately serve his suspension or dismissal. Two recent cases are those of Toledo City Mayor Sonny Osmeña and Cebu City Councilor James Cuenco. Both have appealed their cases, but the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it did not stop the execution because a decision of the Ombudsman is immediately executory.
So a decision of the Ombudsman is executory. But is it final? Cuenco’s appeal was granted and the DILG was ordered to reinstate him. Doesn’t that say something about the theory of finality?
What happens if Garcia is allowed to run and wins the election but loses her appeal? Castillano said the candidate for governor with the next highest number of votes will take over. That was what happened in Escario versus Despi in the town of Bantayan.
Candidates with pending cases face a huge risk, Malacañang official Salvador Panelo recently said. But they should be allowed to run, he added. In other words, take the risk. It may be worth it.
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Resil Mojares finally got the recognition he had long earned. He is now officially a National Artist. I am very proud of him.
Resil was one of those who were arrested and detained during the first few days of martial law for reasons that we still do not understand. He is low key, not a firebrand, but that obviously did not matter to Marcos and his minions. So let’s stop all these lies about nobody having been abused during martial law, shall we?