Recall petition filed vs Sulu governor

The observance of the holy rites of Ramadan began throughout Muslim communities Monday but politics apparently cannot take the backseat in the meantime in the province of Sulu. 

A group of Sulu residents lodged a petition on Friday at the Comelec provincial office seeking the recall of Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan.

This was learned from the leader of the group who said that the petition was duly accepted by Sulu provincial Comelec supervisor Vidzpar Julie.

Julie reportedly accepted the petition after having initially determined it met the requirements for the recall move.

Ali Usman Jilah who is a registered voter of Barangay Sibul, Lugus, Sulu told The STAR in a telephone call that their recall petition was signed by 62,631 registered voters coming from all over the 19 towns of the province. Jilah is the head petitioner.

Jilah said that his group trooped to Vidzpar’s office in the province’ s capital town Jolo at 4:15 p.m. Friday and turned over to him the petition and truckloads of supporting documents including those bearing the 62,631 signatures.

The number exceeds the required volume of signatories according to Jilah, saying the recall law (RA 9244), in the case of Sulu and other similarly-situated provinces, sets the required number of petitioners to at least 15 percent of the total number of registered voters. Sulu has a 256,000 voting population based on last year’s elections.

Citing loss of confidence, the petition stated four grounds in seeking Tan’s recall including his alleged “arbitrary termination of existing livelihood programs like the so-called “ Arms to Farms” and “Tank to Tractor” programs.

The petition forwarded to The STAR also cited Tan’s alleged failure to maintain peace and order and deliver basic services and alleged commission of graft and corruption and other irregularities.