Rep. Erice proclaimed

Four days after the 12th Congress went on recess and nearly four months after the May 14 elections, the Commission on Election’s Caloocan City Board of Canvassers (BOC) proclaimed yesterday a representative for the city’s Second District.

Edgar Erice, a former two-term councilor, was proclaimed by BOC at around 3:30 a.m. at the session hall of the Comelec main office in Intramuros.

In a re-canvassing of votes conducted by the BOC, Erice won over former city mayor Macario "Boy" Asisitio by a slim margin, with 50,019 votes against the latter’s 48,628.

Also proclaimed councilors were militant leader Nathaniel Santiago (second district) and Gualberto Bacolod and Melinda Mabagos (first district).

With Erice’s victory, not a single Asistio holds an elected post in Caloocan, marking the end of a 30-year dynasty. When Congress resumes session on Sept. 23, Erice said he will deliver a privilege speech pushing for the implementation of an anti-political dynasty bill.

For his part, Asistio shrugged off his family’s failure to get a single post, saying they do not need to hold government positions. "What we are fighting for at this point is the right of Caloocan residents to vote," said Asistio.

The Asistio camp has filed a petition before the Supreme Court, questioning the Comelec’s proclamations of the winning candidates in the city.

The election body has junked the Asistios’ petition for a declaration of failure of elections in the city. This paved the way for last week’s proclamation of Malonzo as city mayor, Luis "Tito" Varela as vice mayor and other city councilors.

Caloocan’s First District Representative, second termer Enrico Echiverri, was proclaimed last month after the high court granted his petition to lift Comelec’s order to suspend his proclamation, citing that pre-proclamation controversies are not allowed in the Omnibus Election Code. – Nikko Dizon