Photo from Romeo Jalosjos Jr.’s Facebook page
MANILA, Philippines — Romeo Jalosjos Jr., opposed the proclamation of his 2022 election rival Roberto Uy Jr. as Zamboanga del Norte’s First District Congressman, a document made public on Saturday shows.
Before the Supreme Court (SC) on October 6, Jalosjos filed a Comment and Opposition to the “Very Urgent Motion to Direct the Commission on Elections to Immediately Proclaim Petitioner Roberto ‘Pinpin’ T. Uy, Jr. as Winner in the 2022 Election for the position of Zamboanga Del Norte’s First District Representative.”
In a decision on August 8, the SC ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to proclaim Uy as the district’s representative, after it voided Jalosjos’ proclamation.
The said decision stemmed from the results of the 2022 national and local elections when Uy initially won with 69,591 votes over Jaloslos who got 69,109. However, another candidate, Frederico Jalosjos, was declared a nuisance, and his votes were directed to Romeo Jalosjos Jr.
Uy then filed a petition, and the court ruled in his favor.
Based on the Comment and Opposition filed by Jalosjos, he is challenging this decision.
According to the document, “The proclamation of Roberto T. Uy, Jr. is premature because the Private Respondent [Romeo Jalosjos Jr.] still has the right to file a Motion for Reconsideration.”
The Comment and Opposition argue that proclaiming Uy will result in an absurd situation as the case remains pending before the SC.
It asserted that this would be a violation of Jalosjos’ right to file the Motion.
The document also claims the SC has no jurisdiction over the case as Jalosjos has already been proclaimed, taken an oath, and assumed office, and that the jurisdiction shall solely belong to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
“With all due respect, it must be emphasized that the consolidated petitions should have been dismissed by the Supreme Court in the first place for lack of jurisdiction,” the Comment and Opposition says.
However, the SC ruled in August that HRET has no jurisdiction in the case. According to a press release from the court, the HRET will only have jurisdiction if there is a valid proclamation, proper oath, and assumption of office.
The release said Jalosjos did not take an oath of office before the Speaker of the House in open session. It bars him from performing his functions, and so the requisites to vest HRET a jurisdiction were not met.
Jalosjos refuted this in his Comment, saying that he has fulfilled the requirements for the HRET to take over the case. He took the oath before Senator Cynthia Villar.
He also said that requiring an oath before the Speaker of the House in open session for a proclaimed candidate to become a member of the House of Representatives will lead to absurdity.
“Under the Constitution, the Speaker of the House must be elected by majority votes of its members. If there are no members prior to the oath before the Speaker, who will elect the Speaker?” Jalosjos pointed out in his document.
“How can a member be nominated as Speaker if he himself is not yet a member of the House?” he added.
According to the Comment and Opposition, if the same ruling is applied to the Speaker of the House Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who took the oath in front of Punong Barangay Rodolfo Padillo in Romualdez Medical Foundation Gym, Romualdez’s oath will be invalid.
“If the ruling will be applied in the case of Speaker Romualdez, his oath taken before Punong Barangay Padillo is invalid which should bar him from performing his functions,” Jalosjos argued in the document.
“Moreover, following the ruling, it should not be possible for Speaker Romualdez to be elected as Speaker since there are no members who will elect him as such,” he added.
In the Comment and Opposition, it asked that the document be considered and that the motion for immediate proclamation of Roberto Uy Jr. as Zamboanga del Norte’s First District Representative be denied.
The Comment and Opposition also prayed for a Motion to set the case for oral arguments before the Honorable Supreme Court En. Banc.
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