Supreme Court clears Lanao special polls

MANILA, Philippines - There is no legal impediment for the holding of special elections in seven towns in Lanao del Sur and other areas today after the Supreme Court (SC) did not issue an order stopping the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from conducting the polls as sought by a congressional candidate.

SC spokesman and Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said the SC did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) as requested in a petition filed late Monday afternoon by Salic Dumarpa, a congressional candidate in the first district of Lanao del Sur.

“Based on the petition filed, it’s not strong enough to merit the issuance of a TRO. The court will have to presume regularity in the issuance of the assailed resolution,” Marquez said.

Last May 21, the Comelec issued a resolution setting the special elections on May 29 in seven Lanao del Sur towns and areas where failure of elections was previously declared.

Four days later, the Comelec issued another resolution rescheduling the special polls today.

The special polls will be conducted in the Lanao del Sur towns of Sultan Domalondong, Lumba Bayabao, Masiu, Tubaran, Lumbaca-Unayan, Marogong and Bayang, which have a total of more than 70,000 registered voters.

Lanao del Sur is a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The special polls will also be held in a number of precincts in Barangay Poblacion in Glan, Sarangani, Barangay Buenos Aires in Pagsanghan, Western Samar, Al-Barka in Basilan, and Maluso in Basilan.

The Comelec is spending P22 million for the special elections, including payment for the re-leasing of precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines from Smartmatic-Total Information Management Corp. as well as for technicians and teachers, and the policemen and soldiers securing the polls.

Comelec Chairman Jose Melo said only some 80,000 votes are involved in the special polls and would only matter in the vice presidential race and more seats for party-list groups.

Dumarpa, former commissioner of the National Labor Relations Commission, asked the SC to nullify the Comelec resolution setting the guidelines and procedures for the special elections in Lanao del Sur and other areas, for supposed lack of consultations with the candidates and other stakeholders.

Dumarpa questioned the new clustering of polling precincts and the constitution of a special Board of Election Inspectors in the Comelec resolution, saying these moves might lead to his defeat since they are favorable to his rival, Hussin Pangandaman.

Dumarpa is a candidate for congressman in the first district of Lanao del Sur. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Helen Flores and Lino de la Cruz