MALOLOS CITY—Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno stepped in to ease the tension between two opposing camps claiming the mayoral post in San Jose Del Monte (SJDM) City, Bulacan.
He said acting Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro should give way to Mayor Angelito Sarmiento who was declared by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) winner in an election protest filed against the late Mayor Eduardo Roquero.
San Pedro assumed the post on August 25 after Roquero died of heart attack a day earlier.
“There should be no problem and there should be a smooth turn over,” Puno said in an interview after he spoke at the annual Gawad Galing Barangay here on Friday afternoon, September 11.
He said Sarmiento already took an oath of office before Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Gov. Joselito Mendoza on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
“There is no need for another order, because the Comelec’s order is clear,” Puno said and added that San Pedro will only revert back to his old post as Vice Mayor.
Puno also warned that San Pedro may face charges if he continues to discharge the duties of the mayor citing the five page order issued by the Comelec en banc on September 8.
The said order explicitly states “the late Eduardo V. Roquero’s successor by operation of law, Vice Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro, to cease and desist from discharging the powers and duties of the Office of the Mayor of the City of San Jose Del Monte, and to relinquish the same to, and in favor of Angelito M. Sarmiento who was duly elected to the post in the March 9, 2009 Resolution of the Second Division.”
The said order also cited the manifestations submitted by San Pedro and City Councilors Thelma San Pedro, Romeo Agapito, Pacifico Daluz, Glenn Villano, Giovanni Capricho, Celso Francisco and Allan Ray Baluyot on August 26, two days after Roquero’s death, requesting the Comelec to implement immediately the decision of the Second Division on March 9.
Based on the March 9 resolution of the Second Division that heard the electoral protest, Sarmiento was declared winner over Roquero when the former garnered a total of 56,688 votes compared to the latter’s 55,364 in the 2007 polls.
As this developed, both Sarmiento and San Pedro vowed to resolve the issue without resorting to violence.
Sarmiento said he told his supporters to move away from the city hall where San Pedro’s supporters had been massing since Wednesday.
He added that when he assumed office on Monday, he will first order an inventory of the city’s resources, programs and projects.
Sarmiento also assured that the planned construction of the MRT 7 from West Avenue in Quezon City to Barangay Tungkong Mangga in SJDM will continue.
He said he was the one who conducted a study for the construction of MRT-7 to SJDM 10 years ago, however, it was signed in 2008 when Roquero was holding office.
A three term congressman of the fourth district of Bulacan until 2001, Sarmiento served as the Presidential Adviser on Agricultural Modernization until 2004.
He said acting Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro should give way to Mayor Angelito Sarmiento who was declared by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) winner in an election protest filed against the late Mayor Eduardo Roquero.
San Pedro assumed the post on August 25 after Roquero died of heart attack a day earlier.
“There should be no problem and there should be a smooth turn over,” Puno said in an interview after he spoke at the annual Gawad Galing Barangay here on Friday afternoon, September 11.
He said Sarmiento already took an oath of office before Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Gov. Joselito Mendoza on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
“There is no need for another order, because the Comelec’s order is clear,” Puno said and added that San Pedro will only revert back to his old post as Vice Mayor.
Puno also warned that San Pedro may face charges if he continues to discharge the duties of the mayor citing the five page order issued by the Comelec en banc on September 8.
The said order explicitly states “the late Eduardo V. Roquero’s successor by operation of law, Vice Mayor Reynaldo San Pedro, to cease and desist from discharging the powers and duties of the Office of the Mayor of the City of San Jose Del Monte, and to relinquish the same to, and in favor of Angelito M. Sarmiento who was duly elected to the post in the March 9, 2009 Resolution of the Second Division.”
The said order also cited the manifestations submitted by San Pedro and City Councilors Thelma San Pedro, Romeo Agapito, Pacifico Daluz, Glenn Villano, Giovanni Capricho, Celso Francisco and Allan Ray Baluyot on August 26, two days after Roquero’s death, requesting the Comelec to implement immediately the decision of the Second Division on March 9.
Based on the March 9 resolution of the Second Division that heard the electoral protest, Sarmiento was declared winner over Roquero when the former garnered a total of 56,688 votes compared to the latter’s 55,364 in the 2007 polls.
As this developed, both Sarmiento and San Pedro vowed to resolve the issue without resorting to violence.
Sarmiento said he told his supporters to move away from the city hall where San Pedro’s supporters had been massing since Wednesday.
He added that when he assumed office on Monday, he will first order an inventory of the city’s resources, programs and projects.
Sarmiento also assured that the planned construction of the MRT 7 from West Avenue in Quezon City to Barangay Tungkong Mangga in SJDM will continue.
He said he was the one who conducted a study for the construction of MRT-7 to SJDM 10 years ago, however, it was signed in 2008 when Roquero was holding office.
A three term congressman of the fourth district of Bulacan until 2001, Sarmiento served as the Presidential Adviser on Agricultural Modernization until 2004.
