The Supreme Court has reversed the decision of the Commission on Elections that disqualified Edgardo Tallado from running for governor in Camarines Norte last May 2019 elections.
Voting 8-6, the SC en banc granted the petition of Tallado who questioned his disqualification by the Comelec to run as governor in the 2019 polls.
In a decision penned by Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, the Court overturned the Comelec decision disqualifying Tallado.
The decision promulgated last Sept. 10 was concurred in by Associate Justices Diosdado M. Peralta, Alexander G. Gesmundo, Andres B. Reyes, Jr., Jose C. Reyes, Jr., Amy C. Lazaro-Javier, Henry Jean Paul B. Inting, and Rodil V. Zalameda.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeals issued a temporary restraining order enjoining the Office of the Ombudsman from implementing its decision issued in 2016 barring Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali from assuming his post after finding him liable for mishandling his pork barrel fund amounting to P15 million.
In a three-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Apolinario Bruselas, Jr., the CA’s Seventh Division granted the petition filed by Umali seeking the issuance of a TRO and/or a writ of preliminary injunction to enjoin the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government from implementing the assailed decision of the Ombudsman pending resolution of his petition for review.
Records showed that Umali was found administratively liable for diverting substantial funds from the PDAF and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Program funds to Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation. Inc. and the Samahan ng mga Manininda ng Prutas sa Gabi, Inc. to implement his livelihood projects.
The two firms reported that the funds were used to procure agricultural implements but investigation revealed that no real purchases as all the liquid fertilizers were supposedly sourced from Nutrigrowth Philippines, a company owned by pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
Justices Francis H. Jardeleza, Antonio T. Carpio, Estela M. Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, and Rosmari D. Carandang dissented.
Comelec disqualified Tallado to run due to questionable years of service as governor of Camarines Norte.
Comelec said that if the certificate of candidacy of Tallado would be granted, he would already be on his 4th term as governor. The law limits governors only to three consecutive terms.
However, Tallado was suspended from office in 2015 and was reinstated only after three years or in 2018.
With this, Tallado took his case to the Supreme Court questioning the decision of Comelec and insisting that he is eligible to run still for the May 2019 polls.
Tallado won as the governor of Camarines Norte after garnering 149,002 votes while his rival Cathy Barcelona-Reyes only had 104,635 votes.
The Ombudsman ordered Umali’s dismissal from service and perpetual disqualification from holding public office in 2016.
In his petition before the CA, Umali said he was found administratively liable for acts committed when he was a member of Congress as 3rd district representative of Nueva Ecija, but was subsequently elected as Provincial Governor in the May 2019 election.
The case stemmed after the DILG, upon the Ombudsman’s direction, issued a Regional Advisory mandating that local elective officials who were dismissed from service should serve the imposed penalty even after the said officials were proclaimed to have won in the last election.
In granting Umali’s petition, the appellate court ruled that in a case where a public officer had been duly-elected despite an order of suspension from the Ombudsman, the Supreme Court emphasized the importance of maintaining the status quo so as not to deprive the electorate of the services of the person they have voted into office.