No wonder the CEBU CITY MAYOR RAMA was able to gain adherents from, say, the mountain barangays where his infrastructure projects are visible and in Cebu City. No wonder, too, that the mayor, who looked lonely after he bolted from the BOPK early in his term, has looked formidable as a candidate because of the perception that he was able to deliver the services that his predecessor, Osmeña, failed to attend to because of his obsession with the South Road Properties. Rama repaved numerous roads, got Osmena Blvd walkways all widened and recemented, and built numerous parks which the city desparately needs.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Jun Pe and term limits and disqualification!


What is the intent of the constitutional provision on term limits? The Supreme Court said that the intention of the law is to “infuse new blood in the political arena” by disqualifying officials from running for the same office after a term of nine years straight.
 
SO THE Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) First Division has disqualified Cebu City north district Councilor Augustus “Jun” Pe Jr. from seeking a city council seat in the south district? But the division's ruling was based on Pe's lack of residency and not the term limit.

Pe transferred his voter's registration to the south district last May to comply with the one-year residency requirement for those seeking local elective positions. Section 39 of the Local Government Code provides that a member of the Sangguniang Panglunsod must be, among other things, a resident of the district where he seeks to be elected for at least one year immediately preceding the day of the election.
“It is evident that respondent failed to establish that he has been a resident of the south district of Cebu City for purposes of complying with the election requirement.
 
This ruling would practically encourage politicians to jump to another district after serving three full terms from a previous district. This ruling might also be applicable to Provincial Board members and even congressmen.

Unsa-on na man lang nato ning maong balaod? Ato na lang ning gang-gangon?  Read the complete Sunstar article here
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/02/16/nalzaro-jun-pe-and-term-limits-268471
 
Osmeña’s ‘logic’ on PE 

IF SOUTH district Rep. Tomas Osmeña has his way, he would disqualify Councilor Edgardo Labella from seeking the post of vice mayor in the May elections. A report last Sunday in Cebu Daily News quoted Osmeña as saying that “Labella is also barred from running as vice mayor because he forms part of the city council where the vice mayor is the presiding officer.” Naunsa na ni?

Osmeña issued the statement as he assailed Team Rama for questioning a portion of the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) first division in the case of his Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) stalwart Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. The first division disqualified Pe from seeking a council seat in the south district for lack of residency.

If we follow Tomas's logic, then Comelec would have already been flooded with petitions against councilors running for vice mayor since the Constitution was ratified in 1987 and the Local Government Code was passed in 1991. What an opinion.  Read the complete article in Cebu Sunstar here http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/opinion/2013/02/19/nalzaro-osmena-s-logic-269112

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