MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has ruled that Mayor Miguel Rivilla remains as mayor of Paniqui town in Tarlac.
The Comelec’s First Division early last week declared as null and void an order issued by Benguet Judge Agapito Laoagan invalidating 70 percent of the votes that Rivilla garnered during the May 2013 polls.
Laoagan’s rulings stemmed from a case filed by Rivilla’s rival, Rommel David, who cited double shading in the ballots.
The judge nullified 3,684 of the 4,238 votes counted by precinct count optical scan machines in Rivilla’s favor.
But the Comelec also declared as final and executory a decision handed down on June 6, 2013 by Judge Serafin Cruz dismissing David’s electoral protest against Rivilla.
It was Cruz who first handled the case.
The First Division said the decision became final and immutable when David failed to appeal within the prescribed period.