LP expels Camarines Norte governor for immorality

Saying that his “grossly immoral act” had “tarnished the good name and reputation of the LP as a whole,” the ruling Liberal Party expelled from its roster Camarines Norte Gov. Edgardo Tallado, whose extramarital affair came out on social media in October last year.

In its June 15 resolution, a copy of which was furnished the Inquirer yesterday, the LP noted that the scandal involving the governor had hogged headlines and that a photo showing him shirtless with a half-naked young woman had also become viral on social media.

The affair came to light after Tallado had initially claimed that his wife, Josefina, and her friend had gone missing. But his wife surfaced a few days later and disclosed to media that she had left their conjugal home in Daet, on Oct. 17, 2014, after Tallado had threatened her on suspicion that she had posted on Facebook his picture with his alleged mistress.

The governor’s wife also accused her husband of physically assaulting her.

Disloyalty

Tallado’s expulsion stemmed from a complaint filed by Daet Mayor Tito Sarion whom the governor had earlier accused of disloyalty for attending a gathering organized by their political rivals in the province. Tallado

also claimed that Sarion was spreading rumors that [the governor] would support a non-LP presidential candidate, charges that the party later dismissed.

Sarion, in turn, accused his erstwhile political ally of disloyalty by inviting opposition senators JV Ejercito and Bong Revilla to the province. Tallado, the mayor said, also has pending criminal and administrative cases of human rights violations and illegal mining operations in Camarines Norte.

In its five-page decision, the LP said “Tallado [had] committed a grossly immoral act that has not only cast doubt [on] his moral integrity, but also tarnished the good name and reputation of the (party) as a whole.”

It added: “Although the LP has no business meddling with its members’ marital problems, the magnitude of the scandal is so overarching that it did not only smear [Tallado’s] image, but also that of the party.”

‘Tuwid na daan’

The resolution was signed by LP director general and Occidental Mindoro Rep. Josephine Ramirez-Sato; LP secretary general and Western Samar Rep. Mel Sarmiento; LP treasurer and Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali Jr., and Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas, who chairs the party’s membership and organizing committee.

The LP’s political and electoral affairs committee chair and Caloocan City Rep. Edgardo Erice, and Javier, Leyte, Mayor Leonardo Javier, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, also signed the decision.

The LP said that ensuring decency and moral uprightness among its members was part of its “tuwid na daan (straight path)” advocacy, and that it was “determined to maintain leaders with high moral fiber and integrity, considering that their constituents look up to them for leadership and inspiration.”

Camarines Norte, which has about 300,000 registered voters, is regarded as one of the country’s poorest provinces and among the few areas still beset by insurgency.