FRATERNAL POLITICS IN IBP (WESTERN VISAYAS) BLAMED FOR ELECTION MESS
MANILA, MAY 30, 2011 (TRIBUNE) By Gerry Baldo and Benjamin B. Pulta - A party-list lawmaker yesterday disclosed that fraternal politics is getting in the way of the elections of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in Western Visayas.
According to Citizens Battle Against Corruption (Cibac) Rep. Sherwin Tugna, the suspension of elections of the IBP governor in Western Visayas was issued by the Supreme Court acting on a petition filed by lawyer Marven Baguilanea, a contender for the post of governor in the region and a fraternity brother of SC Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Tugna said that the election, scheduled on May 7, 2011 in Romblon, was indefinitely suspended upon the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) allegedly signed by Corona while it was on recess.
"The Supreme Court should lift the TRO now and allow the IBP members in Western Visayas to vote. The voice of the people is the voice of God," Tugna, a lawyer by profession, said.
Tugna said that the TRO also denied IBP members in Western Visayas a representative to the IBP Board of Governors.
"The indefinite suspension of elections is tantamount to disenfranchisement," the lawmaker said.
Tugna alleged that the SC issued the TRO based on Daquilanea's personal letter to Corona asking the election "be deferred until there is a clarification on which chapters in the region are qualified to nominate and filed candidates for the position of governor."
When asked about reports that Daquilanea, who admitted to being a contender for the Western Visayas Governorship and purportedly a fraternity brother of Corona at Utopia, Tugna said the decision should have not been issued.
If indeed reports were true that Daquilanea and Corona are fraternal brothers, Tugna said the least that the Chief Justice can do is to maintain status quo on the petition.
"It has been ruled by the SC, but I believe that being a fraternity brother does not mean that the judge will be biased in favor of his brother. However, the judge should have maintained the status quo and not issued the TRO. That should have been the proper thing to do to avoid the appearance of bias," Tugna said.
Lawyers from the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Palawan, Romblon and Siquijor have filed their "Respectful Comment-in-Intervention" with the SC last May 26, saying the TRO purportedly deprived the Capiz chapter of its rightful place in the rotation for IBP governorship.
In their petition, they said the "continuing effectivity of the TRO for an indefinite period of time would further wreak extreme damage and prejudice to Western Visayas region while still suffering from the adverse effects of its disenfranchisement."
"The immediate holding of election for governor of Western Visayas region will serve the paramount interest of IBP and will never spark chaos and confusion because they, in electing a governor for their region, will be guided by law, reason, conscience and the best interest of IBP," the petitioners further said.
Meanwhile, in his nine-paged comment before the SC, lawyer Erwin Fortunato of IBP Western Visayas asked the SC to "immediately lift the TRO and allow him to conduct the election which is open to all interested chapters" to prevent the second disenfranchisement of Western Visayas region."
The IBP, the country's official national body of all Filipino lawyers included in the Roll of Attorneys of the SC, seeks to elevate the standards of the legal profession in the Philippines.
It is governed nationally by a Board of Governors, composed of nine governors from nine IBP regions, namely, Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Greater Manila, Southern Luzon, Bicolandia, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Eastern Mindanao and Western Mindanao. A governor is elected by the local chapter delegates of a particular region.
The position of IBP governor for Western Visayas is being contested after the high tribunal issued a decision in December 2010, penned no less than by Corona, where it said only the governor from IBP Western Visayas is qualified to be elected executive vice president (EVP) of the IBP for the upcoming term of 2011 to 2013.
The same decision named the nominee from Capiz as the only one qualified for election as IBP Western Visayas governor.
And in accordance with the By-Laws of the IBP, the EVP will automatically take over as IBP president for the 2013 to 2015 term. Following the "rotation rule," the next governor for Western Visayas should come from Capiz. Daquilanea is from Iloilo.
The intervenors further said that Daquilanea's motion is "totally unnecessary" because the decision promulgated in December 2010 penned by Corona is "pristinely clear that the order of rotation for the first cycle shall be the same order of rotation for the second cycle."
The TRO may pave the way for Daquilanea to secure the post of IBP Governor for Western Visayas and the coveted EVP position and later on the IBP presidency itself, disregarding the mandatory "rotation rule" aimed at democratizing the IBP elections.
Meanwhile, lawyers from 10 provinces have formally asked the high court to lift its TRO that suspended the election of a new governor for the IBP in Western Visayas region last May 7.
The issue involves the application of the rotation rule in the election of governor in IBP. The SC issued the TRO after nominees were all members from Capiz.
Some members were pushing for election of a new governor from Capiz, citing rotation rule that allows periodic election of representatives from all 10 provinces. Some, however, contested this tradition and were pushing for nomination of bets from the other provinces.
In their comment-in-intervention filed presidents of various chapters under the IBP Western Visayas alleged that the effort to stop the elections in their region, which was partially granted through SC's TRO, is part of a purported conspiracy to deprive the Capiz chapter of its rightful place in the rotation for IBP governorship.
"Continuing effectivity of the TRO for an indefinite period of time would further wreak extreme damage and prejudice to Western Visayas region still suffering from the adverse effects of its disenfranchisement," they said.
The IBP members in supporting the position of their outgoing governor, lawyer Erwin Fortunato.
In his nine-page comment filed last May 12, Fortunato also asked the court to immediately lift the TRO and allow their election that would be open to all interested chapters.
He argued that the poll should push through "to prevent the second disenfranchisement of Western Visayas region."
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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