SC orders Comelec to answer San Juan mayor’s plea vs. recall election

The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday directed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to comment on the petition filed by San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez against the poll body's resolutions for the holding of a recall election in the city.

The high court ordered Comelec and co-respondents Sophia Patricia Gil, Raymond Alzona, and Jun Paul Aquino to file their respective comments within five days from notice.

Moves to unseat Gomez came after some 30,000 duly registered voters and San Juan residents filed a petition of loss of confidence against her in September last year.

Republic Act 9244 provides that a petition for recall in local government units with a voting population between 75,000 and 300,000 requires no less than 15,000 petitioners for a recall to commence.

Gomez argued that the private respondents failed to attach the original copies of the required documents, including the list of signatures of those supporting the recall polls and that there were forgeries of the signatures of the supporting petitioners.

She also said Comelec acted with grave abuse of discretion when they deliberated and subsequently issued the resolution finding sufficiency of the petition for recall on April 17, 2018 even without a quorum.

"As admitted by public respondent, the vote after deliberation is 2-1-1, signifying that there are only three commissioners who took part in the deliberation of the petition for recall against herein petitioner," Gomez's petition read.

With no stay order yet in favor of Gomez's petition, the Comelec approved and scheduled for May 1 the verification process for the 30,000 signatures. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News