BONTOC, Mountain Province – A registered voter of the province wants the motion for reconsideration filed by the camp of Atty. Kathy Jyll Mayaen Luis on an order issued by the First Division that prevented her from assuming the gubernatorial post last June 30, 2016, relative to his petition for quo warranto, be denied for lack of merit.
In a 5-page comment on the motion for reconsideration pursuant to an order from the First Division, Thom Tawagen argued the jurisprudence being cited by Mayaen’s camp in order to defend the grant of the motion for reconsideration is irrelevant to the pending case because it involves barangay elections which are non-partisan, and where the Comelec en banc issued a separate resolution.
Tawagen argued if it was the intention of the law to allow substitution of independent candidates, it should have provided the guidelines for the matter, but it did not specify the rules for substitution of independent candidates, similar to what it did relative to substitution of candidates belonging to a political party as defined under existing laws, rules and regulations,
As to the contention of the respondent that Comelec Resolution No. 9984, as amended, had extended, supplanted or varied Section 77 of the Omnibus Election Code, he claimed that such argument is again untenable since while it is true that Section 77 is silent regarding substitution of an independent candidate, it is clearly implied that such substitution is prohibited because the only purpose of substitution is to maintain party representation; thus, to make clearer such intent of the law, the Commission did the right thing in making an expressed prohibition on such substitution for it to properly enforce the implied prohibition on the substitution of an independent candidate under Section 77 of the OEC.
Tawagen claimed the respondent should have been more circumspect in her motion because, as a constitutional body, the Commission has the power to promulgate its own rules of procedure and she should not, therefore, insist on the application of the rules of court with total disregard of the poll body’s rules of procedure.
According to him, if the injunctive writ was not issued and that the respondent was allowed to assume the gubernatorial post, Tawagen pointed out, in effect, the First Division would have already decided the main issue in the case and that the respondent is qualified to sit as local chief executive and that would clearly be a violation of the rules considering that it has been settled that the courts and other tribunals are strictly prohibited from deciding the main issue in the case in a hearing or injunctive relief.
“It is entirely correct therefore for this Honorable Division to have issued the writ of preliminary injunction, more so, that it was issued so as not to render moot and academic, the issue raised in the petition for quo warranto pending with the First Division,” Tawagen said.
Further, the injunctive writ is necessary to restrain the respondent from committing the act complained of which, if allowed, would do him an injustice and it must be pointed out that he was the former Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) federation president of Mountain Province and he is qualified to run for the position of governor.
If the respondent would have assumed the office of governor, Tawagen explained, it would have violated his right to run for governor should a special election be conducted, and will cause great and irreparable damage and injury to him.
Earlier, the First Division denied the younger Mayaen’s motion for reconsideration for the lifting of the writ of preliminary injunction issued against her assuming the gubernatorial post considering that the motion that was filed before the en banc was an interlocutory procedure.
To recall, the former Gov. Leonard G. Mayaen, was an independent gubernatorial candidate for the May 9, 2016 elections who succumbed to cardiac arrest on March 31, 2016, and paved the way for her daughter to file her certificate of candidacy as substitute but was later denied by the Commission en banc through Resolution No. 16-0342 issued on May 7, 2016.
By HENT
