By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
POLITICAL excitement remains in Bacolod City even after the elections. Bing Leonardia’s Grupo Progreso (GP) and Albee Benitez’s Team Asenso (TA) maintain their respective “pasabog” from time to time.
GP disclosed that Bing had filed an election protest before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila just days after Albee’s proclamation as winning mayor.
The outgoing mayor was demanding two things from the Comelec: (1) declare failure of elections in Bacolod due to alleged massive vote buying; and (2) conduct a manual recount of ballots/election returns.
On Facebook (FB), netizens hissed Bing. Then, Albee’s reaction on Bing’s protest: baseless, frivolous!
“It’s time to move on,” Albee told Bing.
Albee, the challenger in the May 9 elections, reaped a total of 171, 893 votes against Bing’s 107,447 votes or a 63,446 vote difference. Quite record-breaking for Bacolod politics!
But Bing, said GP’s spokesman Dr. Chris Sorongon, won’t concede yet. Well, Bing’s entitled to his personal decision. Hence his decision to file an election protest. Such a move is legally allowed under Sections 254-260, Article XXI of the Omnibus Elections Code.
Yes, others may misinterpret Bing’s protest as “funny yet desperate move” being a loser or “sour-graping”. But for those who (really) understand elections, they can easily cognize Bing’s move and purpose sans (further) elaboration.
Who knows? There might be underlying political strategies behind it that only Bing and his camp know. Too, the timeline of their legal actions matters. In short, there’s “depth” in it. After all, Bing’s not the only politician in the country who filed election protest after a “so sorry” defeat.
Let’s take the case of now President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., also known as BBM. When he lost to Leni Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential race, BBM never conceded. Instead, he also filed an election protest and demanded for a recount in certain contested provinces.
Despite an order with finality from the Supreme Court, still BBM didn’t stop on appealing, appealing and appealing. He became “infamous” then. The public tagged him like a broken record (sirang plaka). But try to decipher the logic and rationale behind his unpopular moves and let’s ask ourselves: Why did BBM won as president in the just-concluded May 9 elections?
Consider, too, the play of name recall for six years. Tricky, isn’t it?
UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Meanwhile, the Albee’s camp (already) unleashed its first “shocking move” against Bing’s camp. It’s Albee’s recent order for the creation of a Truth Commission. Such is aimed at probing all transactions by the Bing administration.
Bing, however, remains calm and steady. Well, the Truth Commission per se sounds romantic. And also sounds like the Commission on Audit (COA), but can never act the mandated functions of the said agency.
Question: Is Truth Commission constitutional?
Definitely, nope!
Why?
In Biraogo v. Philippine Truth Commission of 2010 (G.R. No. 192925 Dec. 7, 2010), the High Tribunal clearly declared such a commission as unconstitutional. In his Ponencia, then Associate Justice (AJ) Jose Catral Mendoza stressed, “It must, however, be emphasized that the search for the truth must be within Constitutional bounds for ours is still a government of laws and not of men.”
Added AJ Mendoza, such Truth Commission, therefore, is hereby declared as UNCONSTITUTIONAL in so far as it is violative of the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
Furthermore, in the introduction of his Ponencia, AJ Mendoza, pointed out these notable legal views:
* The role of the Constitution cannot be overlooked.
* It is through the Constitution that the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited and defined, and by which these powers are distributed among several departments.
* The Constitution is the basic paramount of the law to which all other laws must conform and who which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer.
* Constitutional doctrines must remain steadfast no matter what may be the tides of time.
* It cannot be simply made to sway and accommodate the call of situations and much more tailor itself to the whims and caprices of government and the people who run it.
AJ Mendoza’s Ponencia was so precise, thus, easy to be understood even by ordinary men.
And take note that such jurisprudence against the controversial 2010 Truth Commission really “shocked” the country, considering that ‘twas mandated by the late president Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino. And such was even chaired by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide.
Main goal: probe the alleged corruption during the administration of then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
However, a certain Louis “Barok” Biraogo (acting as lone petitioner) dared to challenge the constitutionality of that Truth Commission, and certainly he won.
Question: Is the case of Biraogo v. Truth Commission 2010 applicable in Bacolod?
Legally speaking, yes! Since it’s already a jurisprudence, it’s a case law or legal precedent applicable to (any) similar legal dispute in the future.
‘BANG’ ELEMENT
At any rate, it still depends on Albee’s camp how to dwell on matters related to their planned Truth Commission vice the above-cited jurisprudence.
But such a plan can be likened to “piko”or hopscotch. In this very famous Filipino game mostly in rural communities, any wrong stepping will automatically mean “tabis” (out of the game).
But PR (public relations)-wise, this Truth Commission is, somehow, a potent publicity-slash-political material. It has a “bang” element that could catch public attention or can be an A-1 media material for banner story. Thus, employment of such terminologies is also understandable in a PR point of view.
Hence, if everything happening now is like a movie, perhaps, this Truth Commission could be an effusive teaser. And the next possible questions are:
* What is the story line?
* Who are the “actors”?
* Who is the director?
Of course, Bacolodnons will gonna wait for the “climax” of this Truth Commission.
However, what if the entire story or the ending per se ain’t so nice that can’t satisfy Bacolodnons’ expectation?
To whom this Truth Commission will boomerang later?
Let’s give both Bing’s and Albee’s camps the benefit of the doubt.
And so, “Hiraya Manawari” or in English, may their wishes come true./PN
