SC orders Antique governor reinstated

The Supreme Court has ordered the reinstatement of Antique Gov. Exequiel Javier, ruling that his removal by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) last year was “arbitrary and whimsical.”

Voting 11-0, the high court granted Javier’s petition to junk the Comelec en banc’s order which annulled his proclamation after the 2013 elections for his act of suspending Valderrama town Mayor Joyce Roquero during the election period.

In a decision dated Jan. 12, a summary of which was released only Friday, the high court pointed out that the provisions of the Omnibus Election Code that prohibited the suspension of officials during election periods had already been repealed.

There was therefore no basis to disqualify Javier and the Comelec had “gravely abused its discretion” when it did so, the high court said.

The full Supreme Court decision has yet to be released. It was unclear how soon Javier would be reinstated.