Recall petition against samar guv "sufficient"

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines  — The recall petition filed against Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan de los Santos and her younger brother, Vice Governor Stephen James Tan, is sufficient in form and substance, according to the Comelec en banc.

The petition was filed against the top two officials of Samar province Aurelio Bardaje of Catbalogan, Samar and Elvisa Lopez.

The Comelec en banc's 5-page resolution, dated January 12, 2011, was signed by Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Lucenito Tagle, Nicodemo Ferrer and Armando Velasco, and approved by then Chairman Jose Melo.

"In the light of the fact that governor and vice-governor of the province of Samar have already assumed their respective offices, the Commission resolved … to consider the petition for recall of Gov. Delos Santos and Vice Gov. Tan," as sufficient, the resolution stated.

The separate recall petitions filed against the Tan siblings were based on the loss of confidence, citing among others, the alleged lack of leadership of the two as the main ground.

Earlier, the governor said the petitions against her and her brother will not prosper as it is clearly politically motivated initiated by politicians in Samar who has personal interest to run the province.

Delos Santos said her present administration is different from that of her mother, former governor and now representative of Samar's 2nd district. She said her various programs and projects now, especially health services, directly benefit the poor people of Samar.

Calbayog City Mayor Reynaldo Uy, who earlier announced his intention to run for governor if the Comelec orders a recall election, said the recent decision of the Comelec en banc has paved the way for possible recall elections in Samar.

"This will be a big surprise for (Gov. Delos Santos) because it prospered. A recall election has been waited for by Samarnons after the recall petition was filed last year," said Uy.

The mayor however said the governor and the vice governor can still file at the Comelec a motion for reconsideration, or maybe a certiorari at the Supreme Court before the Comelec will finally order the conduct a recall election.

"I'm the person who is least worried about this because the process and procedure are going on. And while they are going on, the people of Samar are also actively participating in vigilance, watching over the governance of the province of Samar," said the mayor.

Despite efforts of The Freeman to get the reaction of the governor and the vice governor about the issue, not one from the Tan's family answered.

The petitions were also supported by 18 town mayors and several Provincial Board members and town councilors of Samar.

The Tan siblings were elected during the May 10 elections. The separate petitions against them were filed on December 7, 2010 or barely six months after their assumption into office.

Under the law on recall, no petition of such nature can be initiated against the official sought to be recalled within one year of his/her assumption and a year preceding the next regular local election.

Comelec-Region 8 director Jose Nick Mendros, for his part, said the acts leading to recall petition, such as the gathering of signatures, is not prohibited.

About 60,000–out of the more than 70,000 registered voters of the province–signed for the recall of the governor and the vice governor. 

The number of signatures, the Comelec ruled, is more than the required number of signatures which is just 10 percent of the total voting population. The gathered signatures comprise over 22 percent out of the more than 400,000 voters of the province.  (FREEMAN)