NAMFREL

from NAMFREL Election Monitor Vol.2, No.28

Former Dapitan City mayor disallowed to run for public office

Former Dapitan city mayor Dominador Jalosjos lost his privilege to run for public office as the Supreme Court (SC) affirmed its previous ruling which provides that the former mayor is ineligible to run due to his past criminal conviction.

In 2010, the Comelec issued two resolutions dated May 10 and August 11 canceling Jalosjos’ candidacy for “false material representation” after he submitted a faked certification of his probation and parole. The resolutions were backed by an SC ruling that denied Jalosjos’ appeal.

Jalosjos was convicted with final judgment for robbery and was sentenced to imprisonment in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he filed a petition for probation, but was later on revoked by his probation officer. Prior to his election victory in 2010, Jalosjos submitted a certification of compliance for probation to the Comelec to fulfill his requirements to run for public office, but the certification was proven to be falsified. The SC riled that Jalosjos should have never qualified to run for elections as his past criminal conviction rendered him “perpetually” disqualified.

Dominador is the brother of former Zamboanga congressman and convicted child rapist Romeo Jalosjos.

Couple running for mayor face obstacle

A husband and wife who are running for the same position failed to appear before the Comelec for the hearing of their disqualification case. The case was filed by lawyer Antonio Jordan Tabares, Jr. against the incumbent mayor of San Pascual, Batangas, Antonio “Tony” Dimayuga, and his wife Brenda Kenrick Dimayuga. The case filed alleges that Tony’s wife filed her certificate of candidacy (CoC) using a different name, Ma. Brenda.

A group called the Kilusang Kabataan at Kinabukasan (KKK) said that the non-appearance of the couple is an act of discourtesy, and urged the poll body to act on the case with expediency.

Tony Dimuayuga was reported to have said that he will no longer seek candidacy, but later on joined his wife and filed their individual CoC for the mayoralty race in the said town.

Pending the removal of their mayor in Lucena City, supporters flocked to call for the reversal of the Supreme Court decision to oust Barbara ‘Ruby’ Talaga from office.

The ‘protest’ in support of Ruby Talaga went peacefully, according to news reports, and despite the inclement weather, participants stayed until the rally ended at around 8:00 pm on November 9, 2012.

According to reports, Talaga earlier said that her lawyers will file a motion for reconsideration so she can continue to serve her constituents.

Talaga’s candidacy was invalidated before when she filed as a substitute candidate for her husband Ramon Talaga after the latter was barred from running for exceeding his term limits. Despite her disqualification, Ruby Talaga still won in the 2010 elections.

The SC decision that invalidated and ousted Talaga also provides that Roderick Alcala, the town vice-mayor, should be declared mayor. Alcala on the other hand said that he will not employ any force to get to take the office over.

Blast hits a town in Sultan Kudarat

Residents of Tacurong City were rattled as an explosion took place in the residence of a mayor in the evening of Nov. 8, 2012. The blast hit the residential compound of Emilio Salamanca, mayor of the municipality of President Quirino.

Authorities said that the blast was caused by a grenade called high-explosive dual purpose (HEDP). The incident occurred a day after a grenade exploded in Tacurong City’s public market.

Salamanca said in a radio interview that he may be the target in the explosion, as he observed some unfamiliar people roaming around his residence prior to the incident.

The police investigation is still ongoing to establish if Salamanca is indeed the target in the blast.

(Various news resources)

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