Palawan governor to bring recall issue before SC

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines – Palawan Gov. Abraham Khalil Mitra yesterday said he would elevate to the Supreme Court (SC) the recall petition filed against him by the group Kilusang Love Malampaya (KLM) over the Malampaya natural gas project off northern Palawan.

Mitra said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) committed “grave abuse of authority” when it ruled in favor of KLM.

Mitra said he was not given a chance to respond to KLM’s accusations, except through the motion for reconsideration that he filed when the Comelec had already granted the recall petition.

“Just because (the KLM) made names, signatures (the Comelec approved the petition). They did not address the issue on validation of signatures,” he said on the sidelines of the First Leprosy Stakeholders Symposium here.

He alleged that 70 percent of the signatures in the recall petition were fabricated, thus it should not have been given weight.

“They (petitioner) just made up the signatures. Sadly, we have people who signed the ‘no to mining campaign,’ the ‘justice for Doc Gerry Ortega’ and the ‘Livelihood for Peace attendance,’ but their signatures were attached to the recall petition,” he alleged, referring to Ortega, a slain broadcaster and anti-mining advocate.

KLM sought Mitra’s ouster for allegedly compromising Palawan’s interest when he accepted Malacañang’s offer of a smaller share in the Malampaya project.

The Comelec granted the recall petition and subsequently rejected Mitra’s appeal. It will create a committee that will validate the signatures on the recall petition to determine if they are really registered voters of the province.