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A FORMER
party-list congressman on Tuesday asked the Supreme
Court to disbar Commission on Elections (Comelec)
Commissioners Resurreccion Borra and Romeo Brawner for
allegedly violating the provisions of the Code of
Judicial Conduct and Republic Act 6713 or Code of
Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and
Employees.
The
petitioner, Rodante Marcoleta, accused the two Comelec
officials of “subverting the will of the more than
400,000 people who gave Alagad a seat in the House of
Representatives last May elections when they upheld the
nomination of Diogenes Osabel as its representative in
the 14th Congress.”
Marcoleta said the ruling of the Comelec’s First
Division, where Brawner and Borra are both members,
showed “manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross
inexcusable negligence.”
He
recounted that he was the incumbent representative of
Alagad when his group filed its certificate of
nomination (CON) and manifestation of Intent to
Participate in the May 14, 2007 elections on January 15,
2007.
A few
days later, Osabel’s faction filed a separate CON and
then subsequently filed a petition on February 20, 2007
with the Comelec seeking to cancel Marcoleta’s
nomination as Alagad’s representative.
Two
months after the elections the Comelec en banc, sitting
as National Board of Canvassers, proclaimed Alagad as
one of the winning party-list groups entitled to at
least one seat under the party-list system of
representation.
On July
18, 2007 or nearly four months after the case was deemed
submitted for decision on March 20, 2007, the
respondents granted the petition of Osabel and
recognized him as president of Alagad.
Marcoleta alleged that the delay was intentional as the
respondents wanted to make sure first that Alagad would
get a seat before resolving the case in favor of Osabel.
“The
delay was intentional because if the case was resolved
before May 14, 2007, the petitioner will be left alone
to campaign for the party and considering that he is
relatively unknown and without resources, certainly he
cannot make the party win. On the other hand, both
respondents know that it was complainant [and his
group], being the officially recognized representative
of the party in the 13th Congress, who could propel the
party to the victory,” Marcoleta said.
He noted
that owing to the ongoing leadership row, Alagad has not
made any representation since the 14th Congress opened
on July 23, 2007 despite having been proclaimed on July
9, 2007.
“The
party was unable to vote for Speaker, has no membership
in the committees, unable to list down projects and
dispense outreach community services, had to withhold
medical referrals and scholarship assistance, and failed
to file the flagship pro-poor bills being shepherd for
enactment,” the petitioner said.
Earlier,
Marcoleta filed an impeachment complaint against Brawner
and Resurreccion for betrayal of public trust for
allegedly “rendering a ruling that smacks of evident bad
faith, manifest partiality and gross inexcusable
ignorance.” |
