Palawan governor barred to run as congressman

PALAWAN , Philippines  – The outgoing provincial governor of Palawan, Joel Reyes, who is eyeing to be this province’s second district congressman, has been ordered disqualified by the Commission on Elections from running after it found out that the former is residing outside of his district’s area.

This developed as the embattled governor’s lawyer asked Comelec Chairman Jose Melo to look into “persistent and ear-splitting rumors coming from inside the poll body itself that certain persons are brandishing eight-figure amounts” in order to secure favorable judgments in disqualification cases pending before the poll body.”

Based on the Comelec’s ruling, it stated that Reyes, a three-term governor, was found out living outside Palawan’s second congressional district to which he is supposedly gunning the elected position.

Accordingly, after the poll body’s thorough investigation when it acted on Reyes’ disqualification case, they learned that the exiting Palawan governor is not actually living in Coron town as stated in his certificate of candidacy (COC).

However, in a letter to Melo, lawyer Jose Topacio stated that “due to the perceived invulnerability of the automated election count to interference by those who would thwart the people’s will by cheating, candidates whose chances of winning are remote but who possess considerable resources, are now resorting to outright bribery in order to have their rivals disqualified, and thus win their chosen elective positions by technical knock-out.”

Topacio said that “it would be a shame if the reputation of the Comelec that Chairman Melo has tried so hard to refurbish, would once again be blown to smithereens due to the action of some people who think that their money can win them electoral victory by neutralizing those who oppose them.”

The lawyer cited the case of Palawan gubernatorial candidate Baham Mitra, who was also disqualified allegedly by administrative arbitrary order. He said that “the very same people who want to curtail the choice of the people of Palawan by trying to take Mitra out of the race are now assaulting some Comelec officials with mountains of cash and other irresistible blandishments, to the detriment of the electoral process.”