The Commission on Elections en banc has dismissed the petition of former Mayor Ricardo Presbitero seeking the declaration of a failure of election and the holding of a special election in Valladolid, Negros Occidental, for lack of merit.

The COMELEC en banc was acting on a complaint filed by Presbitero against the Valladolid municipal election officer and municipal board of canvassers, the Negros Occidental provincial election supervisor, winning mayor Romel Yogore, Glory Gomez, Dan Yanson, Joenito Duran, Sr., Lucious Bodios and Rey Sumugat.

Presbitero cited the alleged disenfranchisement of 946 voters, whom the 4th Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Valladolid-San Enrique-Pulupandan ordered to be included in the list of voters but whom the election officer excluded and barred from voting.

He also cited the unceremonious and abrupt substitution of Election Officer Jason Sy by Renato Patriarca as the acting election officer and chairman of the Valladolid Board of Canvassers.

The number of voters who actually voted was unusually low and the percentage of persons who voted in relation to the number of registered voters is only at the 70 percent level, he said.

Most of his supporters, numbering about 2,000 were not able to vote as their names were missing from the voters' list, thereby disenfranchising them, Presbitero also said.

But the COMELEC en banc ruled that the grounds relied upon by Presbitero are not those enumerated in the law and jurisprudence.

There was no allegation that the election in any polling place in Valladolid was not held or suspended, the Commission noted.

On the contrary, the petitioner admitted that elections did occur in Valladolid where almost 70 percent of the registered voters participated, the COMELEC said.

"These admissions alone are fatal to the petitioners' case," COMELEC added.

"The MBOC was correct in not heeding the temporary restraining order issued by the MCTC. The Commission on Election has the sole jurisdiction on pre-proclamation controversies relating to municipal elective positions," it said

The trial courts cannot order by mandamus the proclamation of a winning candidate or order the suspension of the canvassing and the proclamation of the winning candidates, it added.

The order was penned by COMELEC chairman Benjamin Abalos, and Commissioners Resurrection Borra, Florentino Tuason Jr., Romeo Brawner, Rene Sarmiento and Nicodemo Ferrer.*CPG

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