Jalosjos fails to get immediate relief from SC

MANILA, Philippines - Former Zamboanga del Norte congressman  Romeo Jalosjos has failed to get immediate relief from the Supreme Court (SC) on his disqualification from the Zamboanga City mayoral race resulting from his previous conviction for statutory rape.

This, after the SC justices, in full-court session last Tuesday, deferred ruling on the prayer for issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) in the petition that Jalosjos filed last Jan. 21.

The SC saw no urgency in ruling on the TRO prayer and instead directed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to first answer the petition.

Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe, who has been tasked to write the decision on the case, recommended that the poll body’s comment is necessary in deciding on whether or not the relief sought by Jalosjos should be granted.

In a 60-page petition filed through veteran poll lawyer Romulo Macalintal, Jalosjos asked the SC to nullify a Comelec resolution citing his “perpetual disqualification for holding public office” as ordered by a Makati City court during his conviction in 1997.

He argued that the poll body committed grave abuse of discretion and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process when it disqualified him supposedly without a hearing.

He cited cases of several nuisance candidates who the Comelec called for a hearing before their certificates of candidacy were cancelled or denied due course.

Jalosjos also argued that the Comelec disregarded Section 40 of the Local Government Code (LGC), which provides that any person convicted with such an accessory penalty is qualified to run for a local elective position after two years from serving his sentence.

He added that this provision in the LGC effectively amended the provision in the Revised Penal Code, a general law, on “perpetual disqualification from holding public office as accessory penalty.” He said the LGC is the more specific law.