Guadalupe barangay captain Eugenio Faelnar has asked the Commission on Elections to dismiss the disqualification case filed against him by his political rival, lawyer Salvador Solima, for lack of factual and legal basis.
Through his legal counsel, Julius Ceasar Entise, Faelnar submitted a five-page position paper to the provincial Comelec office at 3:50 p.m.
Solima filed a disqualification case against Faelnar, saying that Faelnar is no longer eligible to run for reelection because he has served the maximum allowable limit of three consecutive terms
Last Thursday, Solima and Faelnar faced each other at the Comelec office during the first hearing of the case. But contrary to the expectations, no heated argument arose and Solima even cracked jokes and raised Faelnar’s hand before the media.
Provincial election supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano directed Faelnar to submit a petition paper on the case, and directed Solima to submit additional evidence to substantiate his allegation against Faelnar.
Solima filed a petition before the Comelec provincial office seeking to disqualify Faelnar for violation of Section 1 of the Republic Act 6679, otherwise known as the Omnibus Election Code.
He claimed that Faelnar has already served three consecutive terms as Guadalupe barangay captain and is no longer qualified to run for the same position in the elections on Monday.
But Faelnar belittled the disqualification case, saying that the legal opinion from the Department of the Interior and Local Government said that he can still run for barangay captain.
Danilo Almendras, chief of the legal office of the DILG in Central Visayas, ruled that Faelnar was still eligible to run for another term because his terms in office were interrupted twice, the first time for over a year, and the second time for six months.
Faelnar filed his certificate of candidacy for barangay captain on April 8, 1997. However, despite winning in the 1997 barangay elections, he was not proclaimed because of pending criminal and administrative charges filed against him.
In his position paper, Faelnar reiterated that he was not able to assume office as barangay captain because the election officer did not proclaim him as the winner in 2002 election pending the two criminal cases filed against him by Solima.
The DILG then installed Councilor Alex Semilla as village chief on behalf of Faelnar.
Citing the Supreme Court ruling on Lonzanida vs Comelec, Faelnar insisted that he is still allowed to run pursuant to Section 8 of Article 10 of the Constitution and Section 43 of the Local Government Code.
Admitting that he was elected thrice as barangay captain in 1994, 1997 and 2002, Faelnar, however, said that the first requisite condition for application of disqualification is “attendant.’
And though he won the 1997 barangay elections, Faelnar reiterated that he was not immediately proclaimed as village chief pending the filing of the criminal charges. — Gerome M. Dalipe/LPM