‘Supreme Court order on Isabela polls moot and academic’

Moot and academic.

This was how Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Resurreccion Borra described the temporary restraining order (TRO) which the Supreme Court issued in connection with the recent elections in Isabela.

Borra said they could no longer possibly carry out the TRO ordering the poll body to stop the canvassing of votes in Isabela because former Rep. Faustino Dy was already proclaimed governor-elect last May 15.

"This is moot and academic even if it comes from the Supreme Court considering that the proclamation was made on May 15 long before the arrival of the TRO dated June 19," Borra said.

He added: "There’s nothing more to restrain after the governor-elect has been proclaimed, and took his oath of office legally at noon of June 30."

The High Court petition was lodged by Dy’s rival, Manuel Siquian, against the Comelec and Constantino Foronda Jr., a vice mayoral candidate in Cauayan, Isabela.

Acting on Foronda’s petition, the Comelec, in an en banc resolution, earlier disqualified Siquian from the gubernatorial race, declaring him a nuisance candidate.

Siquian himself sought the disqualification of Dy who, he alleged, had warrants of arrest in Los Angeles, California, USA for theft, car smuggling and insurance fraud.

Borra said the legal remedy left for Siquian is to file a petition with the Comelec to nullify the proclamation of Dy, who ran under the local coalition of the Lakas-NUCD and Nationalist People’s Coalition. — Pia Lee-Brago