CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The independence of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) under Chairman Jose Melo now seems to be on trial amid the poll body’s quandary on how to use limited budget in handling 28 pending recall petitions against local government officials.
“It would be dangerous if the Comelec is allowed to be selective,” said election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, legal counsel of Gov. Eddie Panlilio whose critics are again hopeful that their recall petition against the governor would lead to special gubernatorial elections soon.
Panlilio, a priest under suspension, won by 1,147 votes over influential former provincial board member Lilia Pineda who ran under the administration Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi). Third was then incumbent Mark Lapid, also an administration candidate under the Lakas party.
Comelec lawyer Genevieve Guevarra told Punto the polls body had requested Congress for a funding of some P93.1 million needed to carry out special elections in areas where recall petitions had already been certified by the Comelec en banc as “sufficient in substance and form”.
While Panlilio’s critics here spread news that their petition against Panlilio were among those approved en banc, Macalintal, in an email to Punto, said this was not the case.
“It appears that a letter was sent by Comelec to Congress asking for P93 million appropriation for recall purposes. And in support of this request, Comelec mentioned the pendency of 28 recall petitions wherein their respective field officers that conducted the first stage of evaluation of recall petitions found them to be sufficient in form and substance. This does not mean to say, however, that the Comelec itself, being the final arbiter, has already made its own findings on all these 28 petitions as sufficient in form and substance,” he said.
This was confirmed by Gueverra who also said that the Comelec has not yet lifted its resolution dated last Nov. 13 suspending action on all recall petitions due to lack of funds.
She said that while some recall petitions were indeed approved by the Comelec en banc, the petition against Panlilio was not among them. The approved petitions, she noted, included those filed against Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, Cabuyao Mayor Isidro Hemedes Jr.,and Mauban Mayor Rexito Bantayan.
Reports said that Congress gave the Comelec only P50 million out of the P93 million requested. In an interview aired over the radio, Melo said the limited funds have put the commission in a quandary and that he would consult with other commissioners on how to deal with this.
Macalintal also said it would be unconstitutional for Congress to allocate funds needed only for the recall petition in Pampanga. “That is discriminatory and violative of the equal protection clause of the constitution,” he said.
“In one case where the Comelec directed the holding of a special election in one area in Sulu but did not order special election in other areas similarly situated, the Supreme Court rebuffed the Comelec and said that ‘that will be discriminatory and will violate one’s right to equal protection of the law (for) alikes should be treated alike,’” he recalled.
He noted that “there are other petitions for recall filed earlier than the Panlilio recall and even decided earlier by the Comelec” and that there is therefore no need to “pick on Ed Panlilio’s which the Comelec has not yet resolved in the issue of its defectiveness”.
Macalintal also noted that “since the 2009 budget was already approved, how could an additional budget be now inserted for Pampanga recall? I don’t think Congress could do that without a public hearing conducted by the bicameral committee of Congress”.
“It would be dangerous if the Comelec is allowed to be selective,” said election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, legal counsel of Gov. Eddie Panlilio whose critics are again hopeful that their recall petition against the governor would lead to special gubernatorial elections soon.
Panlilio, a priest under suspension, won by 1,147 votes over influential former provincial board member Lilia Pineda who ran under the administration Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi). Third was then incumbent Mark Lapid, also an administration candidate under the Lakas party.
Comelec lawyer Genevieve Guevarra told Punto the polls body had requested Congress for a funding of some P93.1 million needed to carry out special elections in areas where recall petitions had already been certified by the Comelec en banc as “sufficient in substance and form”.
While Panlilio’s critics here spread news that their petition against Panlilio were among those approved en banc, Macalintal, in an email to Punto, said this was not the case.
“It appears that a letter was sent by Comelec to Congress asking for P93 million appropriation for recall purposes. And in support of this request, Comelec mentioned the pendency of 28 recall petitions wherein their respective field officers that conducted the first stage of evaluation of recall petitions found them to be sufficient in form and substance. This does not mean to say, however, that the Comelec itself, being the final arbiter, has already made its own findings on all these 28 petitions as sufficient in form and substance,” he said.
This was confirmed by Gueverra who also said that the Comelec has not yet lifted its resolution dated last Nov. 13 suspending action on all recall petitions due to lack of funds.
She said that while some recall petitions were indeed approved by the Comelec en banc, the petition against Panlilio was not among them. The approved petitions, she noted, included those filed against Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan, Cabuyao Mayor Isidro Hemedes Jr.,and Mauban Mayor Rexito Bantayan.
Reports said that Congress gave the Comelec only P50 million out of the P93 million requested. In an interview aired over the radio, Melo said the limited funds have put the commission in a quandary and that he would consult with other commissioners on how to deal with this.
Macalintal also said it would be unconstitutional for Congress to allocate funds needed only for the recall petition in Pampanga. “That is discriminatory and violative of the equal protection clause of the constitution,” he said.
“In one case where the Comelec directed the holding of a special election in one area in Sulu but did not order special election in other areas similarly situated, the Supreme Court rebuffed the Comelec and said that ‘that will be discriminatory and will violate one’s right to equal protection of the law (for) alikes should be treated alike,’” he recalled.
He noted that “there are other petitions for recall filed earlier than the Panlilio recall and even decided earlier by the Comelec” and that there is therefore no need to “pick on Ed Panlilio’s which the Comelec has not yet resolved in the issue of its defectiveness”.
Macalintal also noted that “since the 2009 budget was already approved, how could an additional budget be now inserted for Pampanga recall? I don’t think Congress could do that without a public hearing conducted by the bicameral committee of Congress”.
