Bulacan town simmers from unresolved mayoralty row

BALIUAG, Bulacan — Tension continues to flare up in this town after a high-ranking politician in the province tried to defy the court order installing Romeo Estrella into office as municipal mayor, saying that there is no final decision from any court or any lawful authority.

Bulacan Gov. Josefina dela Cruz said that she is still recognizing Rolando Salvador, who lost in the election protest filed by Estrella 11 months ago, arguing that the final decision should come from the Commission on Elections.

Dela Cruz the other day instructed the police to get vital documents out of the municipal hall here and bring them to the old municipal hall where Salvador is holding office, also as mayor of this town.

Estrella, however, did not allow the entry of police officers into the offices of different departments of the municipal government, saying that he is the lawful mayor of the town and the documents are his responsibility.

He decried the intervention of Dela Cruz, saying that he was already proclaimed by the court even before the temporary restraining order was secured by Salvador’s camp.

"It is sad that high ranking politicians in the province are trying to ignore our judiciary. We are a government of laws and not of men, and no one is above the law, not even the governor, not even the president," Estrella told The STAR.

He added that he will never allow himself to be forced out of his office because he is the lawful mayor of Baliuag.

"I can only be forcibly removed but they have to do it over my dead body," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina sought yesterday the guidance of the Commission on Election (Comelec) on who will be recognized as the elected mayor of Baliuag.

In a letter to Comelec Chairman Alfredo Benipayo, Lina said there are conflicting interpretation of facts and events over the assumption of Estrella as the town chief executive.

The DILG chief said on the same time that the new mayor was being sworn in, the Comelec en banc had ordered the RTC not to grant the motion of execution pending appeal of the said case in the commission.

"In view of the conflicting interpretation of facts and events, we are seeking the commission’s guidance on who should be recognized by the Department as mayor of Baliuag, Bulacan," Lina said. — James Mananghaya, Perseus Echeminada