Ousted Imus mayor questions validity of Comelec writ

MANILA, Philippines - Imus City, Cavite Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi questioned yesterday the validity of the writ of execution issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for his removal from office.

In a statement, Maliksi said it is “clear under the law, rules and jurisprudence that the issuance of a writ of execution of any decision should be made by the court of origin.”

“In our case, it should come from the regional trial court, the court of origin, and not the Comelec,” he said.

Maliksi also alleged that Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla and his group committed an “illegal act” when they supposedly used “force and violence” in getting into the premises of the Imus City Hall with no valid writ of execution.

He said Remulla himself served the writ “when in fact it is not proper or legal for him to do so” since it is the duty of the Department of the Interior and Local Government or the sheriff of the court of origin.

Maliksi added that his right to file a motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court (SC) had been disregarded.

Recently, the SC upheld the 2010 proclamation of Homer Saquilayan as the mayor of Imus City after a recount of the contested ballots showed that he got 48,521 votes against Maliksi’s 40,092.