SC junks Jalosjos plea

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has junked the petition of former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo Jalosjos against his disqualification from the Zamboanga City mayoral race last month resulting from his previous conviction for statutory rape.

SC spokesman Theodore Te told reporters that the tribunal junked Jalosjos’ petition for being moot and academic, although it ruled on the merits and legal issues of the case for its “doctrinal value.”

The 15-man tribunal cited Section 2 Article 30 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), which discusses the effects of perpetual disqualification and deprivation of the right to vote and election to public office of candidates. 

It also set aside Jalosjos’ argument that this provision was “partially amended” by the Local Government Code, specifically, Section 40 (a), which provides that “those sentenced to final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or for an offense punishable by one or more of imprisonment within two years after serving sentence” are disqualified. 

The SC said the provision “should be considered a law of general application and therefore must yield to the more definitive RPC provisions in line with the principle that general legislation must give way to special legislation on the same subject.”