Ousted Valenzuela mayor raps judge

Valenzuela City Mayor Jose Emmanuel "Bobbit" Carlos has filed an administrative complaint against Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Judge Adoracion Angeles before the Supreme Court.

Carlos accused Angeles of grave abuse of discretion, partiality and ignorance of the law for her recent ruling ordering the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to nullify the proclamation of Carlos as Valenzuela mayor.

Deciding on the electoral protest filed before her court by Carlos' opponent for the mayoral polls last 1998, former Valenzuela Rep. Antonio Serapio, Angeles ruled that massive fraud was perpetrated by the camp of Carlos and named Serapio as the duly-elected mayor.

Carlos was proclaimed by the Comelec as the winner in the mayoral contest last June 1998 with a winning margin of more than 25,000 votes over Serapio.

However, Angeles, in her 50-page decision, said that the large-scale fraud perpetrated by the camp of Carlos had "suppressed the true will of the electorate of Valenzuela."

The decision was condemned by Carlos who questioned Angeles' arbitrary disregard of his winning margin of 25,000 votes over Serapio.

Carlos added that in the recount conducted by Angeles' court, his winning margin had even increased to 27,000 votes.

Of the 27,000, it was learned that 10,000 votes were slashed by Angeles, deciding they were "stray" or "tampered" votes.

Despite this, Carlos said he still won by 17,000 votes which were then disregarded by Angeles.

Carlos will file a motion before the Commission on Elections stopping them from implementing Angeles' order.

"With her decision, Angeles was the one who suppressed the true will of the electorate of Valenzuela and virtually appointed Serapio as mayor," Carlos said.