30 Santiago City workers to lose jobs for backing mayor’s recall

SANTIAGO CITY — At least 30 City Hall employees, who supported the failed recall move against the mayor of this Isabela city, would lose their jobs "for indulging in partisan activities."

Mayor Amelita Navarro said yesterday that she has advised the employees concerned to just resign or face dismissal for violating the Omnibus Code for Civil Servants for getting involved in the preparatory recall process.

Navarro said the 30 employees "actively" and "openly" solicited signatures for the recall petition, which, she added, was in gross violation of civil service rules.

"They are allowed to vote and express their opinions but not to participate in any electoral or political initiatives like campaigning for signatures. They are not supposed to be with the city government if they are opposing us," she said.

The employees concerned are under the city’s public order and safety unit. Navarro said they were all hired during the term of former mayor Jose Miranda.

In last year’s elections, Miranda, who served as mayor for more than 15 years, lost to Navarro by more than 5,000, almost the same margin of votes he had when he defeated her in the 2001 elections.

Navarro’s followers believe that Miranda was behind the recall move in an effort to unseat her.

Miranda, founder of the local political party Kalikasan (Kalipunan ng mga Nagkakaisang mga Santiagueño), however, denied having a direct hand in the recall move.

Earlier this week, the Commission on Elections here issued a certification to the Comelec central office, attesting that the recall petition failed to meet the required number of qualified signatures.

This, after the poll body nullified 2,472 of the 13,831 original signatures in the recall petition when the signatories were found not to be registered voters.

Some signatories were also found to have withdrawn their support for Navarro’s recall or had signed the petition more than once.

The Comelec said the recall proponents should have obtained 12,739 qualified signatures, representing 20 percent of the city’s total registered voters.