Thursday, December 04, 2008 Loots’ rivals barred from takeover By Jujemay G. Awit Sun.Star Staff Reporter
IT was a triple celebration for the Loots yesterday.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division yesterday issued a writ of preliminary injunction that allowed Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura and Vice Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot to continue occupying their posts.
“Pending the final resolution of this case, Shimura and Loot shall remain to their posts,” read the four-page order signed by Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Leonardo Leonida and Armando Velasco.
This means that engineer Augusto Corro and Dr. Jose de Leon cannot take over their respective posts as of yet. Both were declared winners in an electoral protest decided by Bogo City Regional Trial Court Judge Antonio Marigomen.
The three are respondents in a joint petition for certiorari that the mother-and-son filed before the Comelec.
The order, dated Dec. 3, came just in time for Shimura’s 26th birthday, and Ma. Luisa and husband Senior Supt. Vicente Loot’s 20th wedding anniversary.
The commissioners said there is a need to thoroughly evaluate the petition for certiorari so a preliminary injunction was deemed necessary.
“Indeed, the issues raised by (Shimura and Loot) seriously attack the judiciousness of the exercise by the trial court of the extraordinary power to execute its decision pending finality thereof,” the order read.
Shimura and Loot assailed Marigomen’s decision declaring Corro and de Leon as winners of the 2007 elections through a finding that post-revision fraud occurred and the fact that the decision was made when the original ballots were already at the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal.
Good reason
They also said that there was no “good reason to justify execution pending appeal.”
A copy of the order was faxed to Sun.Star Cebu early last night.
But before that, Loot was already confident that the writ of preliminary injunction was coming.
Still earlier, Corro said he already wrote a letter to Judge Marigomen’s clerk of court asking for the issuance of a writ of execution.
Corro told Sun.Star Cebu that he was supposed to follow up the letter this morning.
Unfortunately, the preliminary injunction arrived before the writ could be issued.
But Comelec Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano believes it would not have been proper for Marigomen to issue the writ of execution anyway because case documents are already with the Comelec First Division.
“It is my personal opinion that the court has lost jurisdiction over the case when the records were already taken to the Comelec,” said Castillano.
Corro though assured that he will follow the rule of law.
He was supposed to wait until the end of the week before deciding what action to take pertaining to the possibility of a preliminary injunction being issued.
“I will not discount the possibility because they will move heaven and earth for the injunction. If they get it, then I will have to resort to other legal remedies,” said Corro.
He will have to refer to his lawyers what other options they have, including going to the Supreme Court.
This is not the same with Tudela, said Corro, explaining that he will never insist himself on a position without diplomacy.
“It’s not worth risking the people to violence,” said Corro.
Warning
Loot had a different disposition.
“We are not scared of them, they should be scared of us,” said Loot.
Before she saw the preliminary injunction, Loot was already positive of getting it.
“I’m very positive, they should just sleep,” she said.
This statement posed doubt on Corro’s mind, saying, “maka-duda.”
“I’m not in a hurry…” said Corro on the continued delay of his takeover due to legal impediments.
During last year’s elections, Shimura had a majority of almost 3,000 votes against Corro. But in Marigomen’s decision, Corro won by a margin of 3,391 votes. Loot had a majority of almost 5,000 votes against de Leon. But in the court decision, de Leon won by 1,311 votes against Loot.
Marigomen then granted Corro and de Leon’s takeover bid, dated Sept. 1.
But on Sept. 29, Comelec issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO), which reportedly lapsed yesterday. Counting starts when party receives the order.
Oral arguments between the two parties were heard by the Commission last Nov. 12.
They were then given time to file their respective memoranda on the case.
“There is therefore a need for a thorough evaluation and consideration of these cases by the Commission…The TRO that was granted, these issues could be rendered moot and academic if the Commission will not grant the injunctive relief prayed for,” the order read.
“Prudence, therefore, dictates that the Commission would issue an injunction in the meantime that it is resolving the case on the merits,” it added.
