Javier wants to reclaim post as Antique gov before elections

ILOILO CITY—Unseated Antique Gov. Exequiel Javier is hoping that a Supreme Court decision reinstating him to his post will be implemented before the May 9 elections.

“I have not received a copy of the decision so I cannot comment on it. I only learned that the Supreme Court promulgated a ruling and affirmed our arguments,” Javier told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

Voting 11-0, the Supreme Court affirmed Javier’s proclamation as governor in the 2013 elections in a ruling on Jan. 12. It annulled a Commission on Elections (Comelec) order that nullified his proclamation due to an election offense and removed him from his post.

It said the Comelec had “gravely abused its discretion,” pointing out that provisions of the Omnibus Election Code cited by the poll body in nullifying Javier’s proclamation had already been repealed.

The high court, through its public information office, released a summary of its decision last week, but not its full text.

The Comelec and the Department of the Interior and Local Government removed Javier from office on Feb. 3, 2015, and installed then Vice Gov. Rhodora Cadiao to his post. According to the poll body, Javier violated the Omnibus Election Code when he ordered the suspension of Mayor Mary Joyce Roquero of Valderrama town in Antique during the 2013 election period.

Javier said he expected other parties to file a motion for reconsideration in the Supreme Court.

Cadiao said she had not received a copy of the decision but will abide by any ruling of the high court. “If there’s an order, I will step down and will go back to being vice governor. I don’t have a problem with that,” she told the Inquirer.

But she said she would still pursue her petition against lawyer and vice gubernatorial candidate Eduardo Fortaleza, who earlier sent text messages announcing the ruling of the high court before it was officially announced on Friday. She asked the high court to order Fortaleza to explain why he should not be cited for contempt for leaking the decision.

News of Javier’s reinstatement have affected operations of the provincial government, according to Cadiao. She said contractors and suppliers are hesitant to transact business because of the possible change of leadership.

Javier is running for governor under the ruling Liberal Party against Cadiao, a candidate of the National Unity Party. His son, Antique Rep. Paolo Everardo Javier, is running for a third term.

The former governor, who is the younger brother of slain former Governor and anti-Marcos leader Evelio Javier, also served as representative of the province’s lone congressional district for six terms—from 1987 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010. He was also governor from 1998 to 2001 and from 2010 to 2013.