The Supreme Court has affirmed the ruling of the Commission on Elections that the election of Sesinando F. Potencioso Jr. as the “number one” councilor in Tuburan town in the May 14, 2007 elections was legitimate.
The High Court rejected the petition for certiorari filed by Federico Montebon and Eleanor Ondoy who wanted Potencioso disqualified from holding his post for reason he had already served as councilor for three consecutive terms.
Records showed that Montebon, Ondoy and Potencioso were candidates for the municipal council but 14 days before the elections, Ondoy and Montebon filed before the Comelec a petition for disqualification against Potencioso.
They claimed that Potencioso had been elected and served three consecutive terms as municipal councilor from 1998 to 2001, 2001 to 2004, and 2004 to 2007, thus he is already disqualified from reelection.
Potencioso admitted that he had been elected for three consecutive terms as councilor of Tuburan but claimed the service of his second term from 2001 to 2004 was interrupted when he succeeded as vice mayor of the town due to the retirement of then Vice Mayor Petronilo Mendoza.
The 1987 Constitution provides that all local officials, except the barangay officials, shall only serve for a term of not more than three consecutive terms in the same post.
But the Supreme Court ruled that while it is undisputed that Potencioso was elected municipal councilor for three consecutive terms, the issue lies on whether he is deemed to have fully served his second term in view of his assumption of office as vice mayor on January 12, 2004. — Rene U. Borromeo/LPM