GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija – The vice mayor of this town, after serving for two years, was unseated.
This after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc upheld the decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 31 Judge Napoleon Sta. Romana which declared Roseller De Guzman as the real winner over the initially proclaimed vice mayor Angelina Dela Cruz in the 2007 elections.
De Guzman took his oath of office before Gov. Aurelio Umali at the provincial Capitol and formally assumed his post as the “duly elected vice mayor” of Guimba on Wednesday.
In his Nov. 26, 2007 decision, Sta. Romana ruled that De Guzman won over his rival, Angelina Dela Cruz.
“Wherefore, judgement is hereby rendered declaring the protestant, Roseller T. De Guzman, as the winner for the vice mayoralty position with plurality of 776 votes,” part of the court’s decision reads.
Dela Cruz was proclaimed winner by the municipal board of canvasser after the May 2007 voting.
But De Guzman filed the election protest before the RTC which in turn managed to issue a decision, consisting of 689 pages, within the six months regulatory period.
After the recount, the court found De Guzman to have garnered 11,373 votes as against Dela Cruz’s 10,597 votes.
Dela Cruz appealed to the Comelec. However, an order signed by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo and six other commissioners dismissed Dela Cruz’s petition in an en banc resolution dated April 23, 2007.
De Guzman said the Comelec resolution prompted the RTC to issue a writ of execution on May 19, 2009.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) implemented the writ with Sheriff IV Inocencio Garampil III, said de Guzman.
This after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc upheld the decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 31 Judge Napoleon Sta. Romana which declared Roseller De Guzman as the real winner over the initially proclaimed vice mayor Angelina Dela Cruz in the 2007 elections.
De Guzman took his oath of office before Gov. Aurelio Umali at the provincial Capitol and formally assumed his post as the “duly elected vice mayor” of Guimba on Wednesday.
In his Nov. 26, 2007 decision, Sta. Romana ruled that De Guzman won over his rival, Angelina Dela Cruz.
“Wherefore, judgement is hereby rendered declaring the protestant, Roseller T. De Guzman, as the winner for the vice mayoralty position with plurality of 776 votes,” part of the court’s decision reads.
Dela Cruz was proclaimed winner by the municipal board of canvasser after the May 2007 voting.
But De Guzman filed the election protest before the RTC which in turn managed to issue a decision, consisting of 689 pages, within the six months regulatory period.
After the recount, the court found De Guzman to have garnered 11,373 votes as against Dela Cruz’s 10,597 votes.
Dela Cruz appealed to the Comelec. However, an order signed by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo and six other commissioners dismissed Dela Cruz’s petition in an en banc resolution dated April 23, 2007.
De Guzman said the Comelec resolution prompted the RTC to issue a writ of execution on May 19, 2009.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) implemented the writ with Sheriff IV Inocencio Garampil III, said de Guzman.
