The Commission on Elections First Division has dismissed the petition of congressional candidate Olivia Paras seeking to annul the proclamation of Jocelyn Sy-Limkaichong as first district representative of Oriental Negros.

In a seven-page decision dated June 29, a copy of which was obtained by the DAILY STAR yesterday, Commissioners Resurreccion Borra and Romeo Brawner said the Commission has made it very clear that pending disqualification cases involving issues of citizenship, among others, do not suspend the proclamation of winning candidates.

A May 17 Joint Resolution of the Comelec Second Division had disqualified Limkaichong as a candidate after winning the election, on the ground that she was not a natural-born Filipino.

But on May 18, the Comelec issued Resolution 8062, which said that there shall be no suspension of proclamation of winning candidates with pending disqualification cases.

Limkaichong was proclaimed by the Provincial Board of Canvassers on May 25.

Paras then filed her petition to nullify or annul the proclamation, questioning the validity of Limkaichong’s proclamation. Paras added that the proclamation was not held at the provincial capitol, as required by law, but at a private restaurant.

She also said the Provincial Board of Canvassers was illegally reconvened, and that no notice was given to the other candidates before the canvassing was resumed.

Also, Paras said, the Board of Canvassers was incomplete because Schools Division Supt. Aleli Abne was absent.

CODILLA CASE CITED

Because Limkaichong’s proclamation is null and void or invalid, following the Supreme Court’s pronouncements in the case of Codilla v. de Venecia, the Comelec has jurisdiction to nullify her proclamation, Paras said.

In that case, Codilla won the election but was declared disqualified by the Comelec Second Division and his rival Locsin, who garnered the second highest number of votes, was proclaimed.

At the time of Locsin’s proclamation, however, Codilla still had a pending Motion for Reconsideration, which still had to be resolved by the Comelec en banc. This made Locsin’s proclamation invalid, the Comelec said.

But the Commissioners said that the general rule is that the proclamation of a congressional candidate divests the Commission of jurisdiction in favor of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, except if the proclamation itself was illegal.

The Comelec cited the case of Planas v. Comelec, where the candidate sought to be disqualified was able to file a motion for reconsideration. Because the Division Resolution invalidating his certificate of candidacy was not yet final, the Supreme Court held that the subsequent proclamation of the candidate was valid or legal, divesting the Comelec jurisdiction over the case.

The Comelec said the case filed by Paras against Limkaichong is similar, not to the factual circumstances of the Codilla case, but to he Planas case.

The Commission said the petition filed by Paras is dismissed because the disqualification cases involving Limkaichong were still pending reconsideration by the en banc.

Former Congressman Jacinto Paras, however, belittled the Second Division Resolution, saying it was only made by two Commissioners.

“That’s nothing. That’s only Borra and Brawner. We have filed a Motion for Reconsideration on the issue of the illegality of the proclamation,” he said.

SPLIT DECISION

Paras said the Comelec en banc decision disqualifying Limkaichong as a candidate on grounds that she is not a natural-born Filipino has become final and executory because the Supreme Court did not issue a Temporary Restraining Order.

However, Limkaichong’s lawyer, Dirkie Palma, said the en banc decision of the Comelec was a split decision with three Commissioners voting to disqualify Limkaichong and three others voting to elevate the matter to the HRET.

Palma said they have asked the Comelec to clarify their decision so that they could go to the Supreme Court, if the Comelec renders an unfavorable decision.*AP

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