Lucena mayoral row deepens as incumbent refuses to yield seat

LUCENA CITY—Embattled Mayor Barbara Ruby Talaga on Monday continued to defy a Commission on Elections (Comelec) order unseating her, as she insisted she is still the incumbent local chief executive.

“I’m still here,” she told city employees at a flag-raising ceremony in City Hall.

“Our Calvary is not yet over. Let us wait for the decision of the Supreme Court. This is my fight, a fight of my family, but our public service will continue,” she said.

During the program, Talaga welcomed the designation of Supt. Ramon Balauag as the new chief of police of Lucena.

On Thursday, loyal supporters of Talaga held a prayer rally in front of the old City Hall building, asking the Supreme Court to stop her removal from office as ordered by the Comelec.

Rally organizer Lani Rivera, coordinator of the Kalipunan ng mga Babaeng Pinuno sa Lucena Inc., said Talaga is the legitimate mayor since she was elected and proclaimed winner in the last elections.

Lucena Bishop Emilio Marquez called on city residents not to allow themselves to be divided by “destructive partisan politics.”

Talaga and her husband, former Mayor Ramon Talaga Jr., were not around during the rally but one of the couple’s sons, provincial Board Member Romano Talaga, addressed the crowd, appealing to the Supreme Court to issue an impartial decision based on the case’s merits.

In a phone interview from Manila, Vice Mayor Roderick Alcala urged residents to respect the decision that would be issued by the Supreme Court.

He said, however, that he has filed a writ of execution for the Comelec to start enforcing its order unseating Talaga through the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“I’m still waiting for the DILG,” Alcala said.

On May 20, the Comelec ruled Talaga’s proclamation and election last year as illegal, and ordered the city mayor to vacate her post in favor of Alcala.

The Comelec said Talaga’s candidacy was invalid when she substituted for her husband, Ramon, because Ramon had not yet withdrawn his certificate of candidacy when she filed her own certificate on May 4, 2010.

Talaga appealed for a temporary restraining order at the Supreme Court. Her appeal is still pending.