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Mayor Basmayor |
Minalabac Mayor Gil Basmayor, Jr. becomes the first beneficiary here in Camarines Sur and probably throughout Bicol of the Supreme Court mandate to have all election protests concluded within six months after RTC Judge Zeida Aurora Garfin of RTC Branch 19 in Naga City dismissed the election protest against him by his opponent.
In a decision dated September 18, 2007, Judge Garfin dismissed the election protest filed by mayoralty candidate Eduardo Suarez because “there is no reasonable recovery established from the twenty percent pin-pointed precincts of protestant”.
Protestant Suarez pin-pointed the following precincts believed to best exemplify the frauds or irregularities pleaded in the contest, comprising 20% of the total revised protested precincts: barangay Salingogon precincts nos. 95-A and 91-A; Hamorawon, 56-A and 58-A; Del Rosario, 52A; San Antonio, 99-A; Antipolo, 19-A and 26-A; Baliuag Viejo, 45-A; and Catanusan, 49-A.
However, from the precincts pinpointed by Suarez the protestant succeeded in having only 19 votes added to his total number of votes. Mayor Basmayor had won by 148 votes over Suarez.
Under Supreme Court Circular No. 07-4-15 all election protests are to be decided within six months after filing of the protest case.
In the same Supreme Court circular also all means to delay proceedings in election cases are no longer allowed.
Comelec has in fact dismissed election cases fi ed with the commission in order that they could be concentrated in regional trial courts where they could be more expeditiously concluded in view of the Supreme Court circular.
With this development similar election protests in San Jose and Pasacao towns in Camarines Sur may also be concluded within the next two months.
