Comelec readies Puerto polls

Comelec office. FILE PHOTO

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday said it would immediately prepare for the conduct of recall elections for mayor in Puerto Princesa City as ordered by the Supreme Court.

Comelec Commissioner Lucenito Tagle, in an interview with reporters, said the poll body was likely to hold the elections in the next three months.

“We’ll prepare for that since that is already an SC decision,” he said.

He added that the poll body is not allowed to hold recall elections a year prior to the next regular elections. The next national elections are scheduled for May 2016.

Tagle said the Comelec decided to heed the ban earlier to give itself time to prepare for the 2016 elections.

Tagle said the Comelec was not likely to appeal the high court ruling.

“Personally, I doubt if the decision would be overturned,” Tagle said.

“The SC en banc voted 12-0, so it’s quite difficult to change that,” he added. Tina G. Santos