LUCENA CITY, Philippines – The dispute over the mayoralty of this provincial capital has turned into a three-way fight after one more politician resurfaced to stake a claim that he was the rightful mayor of Lucena.
Former Lucena Vice Mayor Philip Castillo (Liberal Party), lone opponent of Mayor Barbara Ruby Talaga (Lakas-Kampi) in the last mayoral election, said in an interview Friday that he should have been declared mayor after she was unseated by the Commission on Elections, not his running mate Roderick Alcala (LP), who was elected vice mayor.
This new twist developed just as Lucena Bishop Emilio Marquez appealed to the Supreme Court to immediately rule on the issue to end the confusion of local residents who have to deal with more than one person claiming to be the rightful mayor.
“Only the Supreme Court can end this public confusion. I appealed to the honorable justices to immediately decide on the pending petition filed by the other party,” Marquez said over the phone Saturday morning.
He was referring to a petition filed by Talaga with the Supreme Court questioning the Comelec ruling, which declared her election in 2010 illegal and invalid.
In renewing his claim, Castillo said the Comelec should rule in his favor because when he filed his petition right after the 2010 elections questioning the legitimacy of Talaga’s proclamation, “I sincerely believed in the justness of my position.”
He argued that since Talaga’s candidacy was found by the poll body to be defective and null and void from the start, “it meant that I ran unopposed and thus should be declared as the winner in the last election.”
However, the poll body in its May 20 ruling, set aside Castillo’s petition and ruled that Vice Mayor Alcala should replace the incumbent mayor by law of succession. Although not an original party to the poll dispute between Castillo and Talaga, Alcala filed a petition for intervention with the Comelec on July 22, 2010, saying he should be declared mayor.
Castillo brought his case before the Supreme Court where it is still pending.
“I pray that the Supreme Court justices will correct the injustice committed by the Comelec not only against me but to the people of Lucena who voted for me,” Castillo said.
The Comelec said Talaga’s candidacy was invalid when she substituted for her husband, Ramon, because he had not yet withdrawn his certificate of candidacy when she filed her own certificate on May 4, 2010.
In the final tally, Ramon Talaga received 44,099 votes while Castillo got 39,615. Based on existing election laws on substitution, the votes garnered by Ramon were automatically considered votes for Barbara.
With the dispute as to who is the rightful mayor of Lucena still simmering, Alcala, who took his oath of office as mayor on Friday, was holed up in his office in the New City Hall building, the city’s legislative center, while Talaga remained in her office at the old City Hall in the city proper. The two buildings are 1.5 kilometers apart.
Bishop Marquez, meanwhile, called on Talaga and Alcala to respect the Supreme Court decision once it comes out and refrain from further confusing the public by issuing conflicting orders and statements.
He also asked that the two political leaders to remained in their “respective offices” and prevent their followers from engaging in provocative actions.
After the Comelec ruled on May 20 that her candidacy and proclamation as mayor were illegal and invalid, Talaga immediately petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari contesting the poll body’s decision.
Talaga also appealed for a temporary restraining order to block the implementation of the Comelec order to unseat her. Both are still pending in the Supreme Court.
“If the Supreme Court will deny our appeal for a TRO my wife is ready to step down and hand over the local government leadership to Mr. Alcala. It’s only a matter of few more days of waiting but why can’t he just wait,” former Lucena Mayor Ramon Talaga Jr.said.
Ironically, Ramon is Alcala’s wedding godfather.
Josefina Castilla-Go, Department of Interior and Local Government-Calabarzon regional director, has reportedly struck an agreement between the two political protagonists that they would both abide by the high court’s ruling, which they said was expected next week.
A report aired over local radio Saturday quoted the local government official as saying that Alcala would allow Talaga and her barricading followers to remain at the old City Hall building without any police action to disperse them,
A close ally of Alcala confirmed Castilla-Go’s disclosure.
After the Comelec representatives posted a copy of its ruling on the bulletin board at the old City Hall building Friday afternoon, Alcala immediately took his oath of office as mayor.
Lawyer Allan Enriquez, chief of the Comelec in Quezon, said that after they posted the poll body’s resolution, “by operation of law, Mr. Alcala is now the city mayor.”
But Talaga insisted that she was still the mayor and vowed to continue performing her duties as the city’s local chief executive.
Throngs of supporters of the Talagas were still gathered in front of the old City Hall building and vowed to continue their vigil, which they started on Thursday, to await the Supreme Court’s decision.