MALOLOS CITY—Despite a temporary restraining order issued by a judge of the Bulacan Regional Trial Court here, Comelec’s 24 election officers in this province have already started the validation of signatures and thumb marks of some 319, 707 petitioners in connection with the recall proceedings against Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado.
Alvarado, however, said the verification process being undertaken by the EOs were illegal because he was not afforded a three-day notice prior to the scheduled validation of signatures which is a mandatory requirement of due process pursuant to Comelec Resolution 7505 that governs recall elections under the Omnibus Election Code.
In a press briefing, Alvarado also explained the latest Order of RTC-Branch 83 Judge Guillermo P. Agloro dated March 17 where the Court specifically clarified that the EOs were enjoined from proceeding with the validation of signatures that was initially scheduled last March 9 to 23.
But in a radio report, election officer Rogacion Sy Tamco of Balagtas, Bulacan said he was threatened with arrest if his group would proceed with the validation process. Tamco said the threat was made by Alvarado’s lawyer Atty. Eloisa Bayani who was accompanied by two policemen.
The EO reportedly asked Atty. Bayani to make a written manifestation of their objection but the latter allegedly refused. Sy Tamco then requested for legal guidance from the Comelec’s main office.
Apparently, the 24 EOs were under instruction to proceed with the verification of signatures and thumb mark after the Comelec en banc resolved last March 10 “to declare that the Bulacan Regional Trial Court has no jurisdiction over the issues subject matter of the TRO.”
Among the 21 towns and 3 component cities of Bulacan, the city of Malolos has the highest number of recall petitioners with some 25,835; followed by the towns of Sta. Maria (22,988); Marilao (22,676); San Jose Del Monte City (22,486); City of Meycauayan (19,228); San Rafael (18,724); Bocaue (18,411); San Ildefonso (16,981); Baliuag (15,593); Norzagaray (15,576); Guiguinto (15,451); Angat (11,151); and Balagtas (11,672).
In the hometown of Gov. Alvarado, there are only 947 recall petitioners while in Calumpit, the town where Alvarado and wife-Congresswoman Marivic Sy-Alvarado resides, has 11,391 signatories.
The scheduled verification process of signatures and thumb marks will end on March 28. Under Resolution 7505, if the validation breached the 15 percent threshold of verified signatures, the Provincial Election Officer will then be required to submit a report to the Comelec’s Deputy Executive Director for Operations (DEDO) who will in turn transmit its findings to the Comelec En Banc which will then set the schedule and final date of the recall elections.
In a separate order issued last March 10, Comelec Chairman Christian Robert S. Lim also ordered Judge Agloro to comment on the petition of recall-petitioner former provincial administrator Perlita Mendoza to cite the RTC judge and Gov. Alvarado for “Indirect Contempt for willfully, maliciously and unlawfully interfering with the processes of the Commission En Banc.”
Judge Agloro and Alvarado were ordered to appear before the Commission En Banc on March 25.
Alvarado stood firm on the findings of most mayors that most of the petitioners whose names appear in the recall-petition disowned their signatures and were unaware of the recall petition when they signed the forms. He said other petitioner’s signatures were done by a ‘master forger’ who even included names of dead persons and those already living abroad.