Paracelis, Mt. Province – The Commission on Election en banc and the Department of Interior and Local Government are being urged to resolve Paracelis Mayor controversy that put the municipality in a stalemate.
With the situation, there are people asking who should really lead the municipality?
The municipality is under confusion after there was no oath taking done for the incoming Mayor of Paracelis.
The winning candidate is convicted of illegal logging. The current Mayor would not leave office due to an unresolved claim of being the legitimate winner, while the elected Vice-Mayor was tasked to take the seat of the elected Mayor.
“To reiterate, I am making a plea for the en banc to please act on the urgent motion as soon as possible to avoid not only confusion but possible tension,” said former Mayor Marcos Ayangwa in a press conference held Friday, July 1 at the Office of the Mayor.
Result of the May 9 polls
In the May 9 elections, Avelino Amangyen obtained the highest votes, recording 9,220 which made him the winning candidate. Marcos Ayangwa, the incumbent, got 5,185. Amor Liban, another candidate, had 1,172 votes.
Ayangwa’s camp claimed that Ayangwa ‘was voted as the legitimate winner because the person who got the highest vote was already disqualified by the Comelec’s Second Division’ before the elections.
Amangyen’s disqualification
The 2nd Division of COMELEC disqualified Amangyen on April 19, 2022, for misrepresentation, considering that he did not disclose in his certificate of candidacy his previous conviction of a crime.
Amangyen was found guilty of violating Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Code in 2013. The case stemmed from the raid in Amangyen’s residence where police found several forest products not covered by permits.
The judgment was later upheld by the Court of Appeals and subsequently by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Amangyen was sentenced with a penalty of reclusion temporal with an accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification from running for public office.
On October 27, 2021, a warrant of arrest against Amangyen was served but has since remained at large and was not able to attend the proclamation of the winning candidates.
Motion for Reconsideration
Amangyen’s camp, however, filed a Motion for Reconsideration before the COMELEC which is still pending.
Vice-Mayor to assume as Acting-Mayor
In a letter dated June 20, 2022, Atty. Elmer Sagsago, the counsel of Vice-Mayor elect Djarma Rafael, requested the Regional Director of DILG-CAR to issue an official directive as to whether there is a vacancy in the position of Municipal Mayor and whether Djarma should assume as Acting-Mayor.
In her legal opinion response dated June 28, RD Araceli San Jose stated, “In the event that no resolution on the Motion for Reconsideration will be issued by the COMELEC on the noon of June 30, there shall exist a temporary vacancy in the position of Mayor. In that case, pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991, the Vice Mayor shall then assume as the Mayor in an Acting Capacity. However, as discussed in the foregoing motion, the Vice Mayor’s assumption shall be without prejudice to the COMELEC’s resolution on the aforementioned Motion.”
With the said opinion as the basis, the Municipal Local Government Operations Officer announced before the public that Rafael shall assume as the Acting Mayor.
The announcement was made after the Vice-Mayor elect to Sangguniang Bayan members took their oath of office in the morning of June 30.
Amangyen took oath of office in Tuba, Benguet
At 8:45 AM of the same day, the Human Resource Management Office of Paracelis received a document stating that Amangyen sworn oath of office in Barangay Tadiangan, Tuba, Benguet on June 28, 2022.
On Thursday afternoon, the representatives of Amangyen, Ayangwa and Rafael had their meeting and Rafael’s camp asked Ayangwa to leave the Office of the Mayor by Wednesday.
Ayangwa decides not to leave the Mayor’s Office without an order
Ayangwa, however, firmly stands not to leave the office ‘until such time that there is a directive or order from the higher office, not an opinion from the DILG.’
“We stand with that right that we need to occupy the office so that it will not be misconstrued as abandonment or waiver of this right that we are fighting for,” Municipal Administrator Atty. Christian Van Talawec said.
Ayangwa expressed his willingness to step down from the office upon the release of order.
“Nu addan tu then we happily vacate, awan problema idiay,” conveyed Ayangwa.
No comment from Rafael and Amangyen’s side
Guru Press tried reaching for Rafael and Amangyen’s side, but both did not comment on the issue.
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