Comelec lifts suspension, orders proclamation of winning Isabela vice mayor
CITY OF ILAGAN— The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division has ordered the municipal board of canvassers in Reina Mercedes, Isabela province, to reconvene and proclaim lawyer-accountant Jeryll Harold Respicio as the duly elected vice mayor within five days of receiving the order that was issued on June 2.
The decision came after Commissioners Aimee Ferolino, Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr., and Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal lifted the suspension of Respicio’s proclamation, which had been placed on hold due to a pending disqualification case filed by Comelec itself.
Respicio’s proclamation was originally suspended on May 13, despite garnering the highest number of votes in the vice mayoral race. He received 6,042 votes, defeating his half-brother Anthony “Bong” Respicio, who got 5,456 votes.
‘Backroom program’
Following the suspension, Respicio criticized Comelec’s action, asserting that the people of Reina Mercedes had already made their choice.
“The people have spoken,” he said in an earlier statement on Facebook, insisting that the electoral mandate should be upheld and not “remanded” by the commission.
The disqualification case stemmed from a complaint filed by Comelec on Feb. 28, over videos allegedly posted by Respicio on Facebook, in which he claimed he could manipulate the election results using a so-called “backroom program.”
Comelec accused Respicio of violating Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Article 154 covers the unlawful use of publication and false information that could endanger public order. Comelec cited the dissemination of false news and cyber-libel as grounds for the complaint.
However, the poll body clarified that no discrepancies or mismatches in election results were found. It confirmed that the hash values shown in the contested video matched those in the official report posted on the Comelec website.
