SC: Let Puerto recall move proceed

The Supreme Court has ordered the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to continue proceedings for recall elections, including that for the Puerto Princesa City mayor, saying the poll body could not cite lack of funds in failing to fulfill a constitutional mandate.

Voting 12-0, the court en banc on Tuesday granted the petition of Alroben Goh against two Comelec resolutions affecting the recall petition in Puerto Princesa, the high tribunal’s spokesperson, lawyer Theodore Te, said.

The justices ruled that the poll body committed grave abuse of discretion in issuing two resolutions virtually stopping recall proceedings in Puerto Princesa and elsewhere.

“The 2014 General Appropriations Act provides the appropriations to allow the Comelec to perform its constitutional mandate. There is no need for supplemental legislation to authorize the Comelec to conduct recall elections for 2014,” the justices said.

Goh, former city administrator, initiated the recall petition against Lucilo Bayron at the Comelec early this year, citing “loss of trust and confidence” in Bayron.

Former Mayor Edward Hagedorn, who is believed to be behind the recall petition, said in a text message he was “awed by the ruling which strengthened even more [his] faith and admiration for the integrity and independence of our Supreme Court.”

In April, Comelec issued Resolution No. 9864 affirming the recommendation of the poll body’s deputy executive director finding the petition for recall sufficient in form and substance.

However, the same resolution suspended the recall proceedings because of funding

issues.

In May, Comelec came out with Resolution No. 9882, which suspended all recall proceedings. The poll body reasoned that the recall process did not have any appropriation in the 2014 budget and that the budget did not give Comelec

legal authority to commit public funds for the recall process.

The high court cited the Comelec’s fiscal autonomy and a provision in the Constitution that vests the poll body with power to “enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of an election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum and recall.”

The Charter also grants the Comelec chair the power to use funds from savings.

The justices noted that the 2014 budget clearly provided for appropriation for the conduct and supervision of recall elections.

This is found in the Programs category of Comelec’s 2014 budget, which the poll body admitted in Resolution No. 9882 as a “line item for the ‘conduct and supervision of elections, referenda, recall votes and plebiscites.’”

In addition, the court noted that one of the specific functions of the Comelec is to conduct recall elections. With a report from Redempto D. Anda, Inquirer Southern Luzon