Comelec allows Pagdanganan to assume Bulacan gubernatorial post

Former Agrarian Reform Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan can finally assume the post of Bulacan governor after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gave the go signal on Tuesday. In a 10-page resolution, the Comelec en banc junked the appeal filed by Pagdanganan’s rival Jon-Jon Mendoza for “lack of merit." Mendoza was earlier unseated after a recount showed that his rival received 342,295 votes compared to the 337,974 ballots cast in his favor, a margin of 4,321 votes. In May 2007, the Provincial Board of Canvassers proclaimed Mendoza as the duly elected governor of Bulacan with 364,566 votes against Pagdanganan's 348,834 votes, a margin of 15,732 votes. Pagdanganan, a former cabinet member, may immediately take over the post because the governor’s three-year term will soon be ending, the Comelec said. He also remains hopeful of a “peaceful" turnover of the gubernatorial seat in Bulacan. “The decision of the Comelec reflects the true will of the people of Bulacan and there is no reason for the other party to deny Bulacan the rightful winner in the last election," he said in a statement released Tuesday. Pagdanganan will be seeking a congressional seat in the first district of Bulacan in the May polls. Three commissioners, including chair, refuse to vote on decision The decision was supported by Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Elias Yusoph, and Lucenito Tagle, all of whom are members of the second division which had earlier unseated Mendoza. Only Commissioner Rene Sarmiento, who heads the first division, dissented. Comelec chairman Jose Melo and Commissioners Gregorio Larrazabal and Armando Velasco refused to participate in the deliberation and vote on the proceedings. Both Melo and Larrazabal said that they know some of the concerned parties while Velasco said that he does not want to vote without access to evidence supporting the electoral protest. With only three votes from the second division, the poll body still ordered the Provincial Election Supervisor of Bulacan, in coordination with the Provincial Operations Officer of the Department of Interior and Local Government to implement the en banc resolution. Earlier, the Liberal Party criticized the Arroyo administration for what it called “vendetta politics" against at least three of the party’s governors: Mendoza, Grace Padaca of Isabela, and Ed Panlilio of Pampanga. Both Padaca and Panlilio vowed to support LP’s standard bearer, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III in the May elections while Mendoza was unseated after his Partido del Pilar coalesced with LP for the 2010 polls. The Comelec denied the accusation. - GMANews.TV