Puerto Princesa recall petition a deception of a thousandfold

This is in response to Neal Cruz’s column (Opinion, 3/23/15) wherein he alleged that strong pressure is being exerted on the Commission on Elections and the Ombudsman to “dribble the ball” on the petition for recall and criminal cases against Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo R. Bayron. Interestingly, his column appeared on the same day a full-page advertisement, echoing many of the points he raised, was published in the Inquirer. Nothing could be further from the truth.

First, the recall petition against Bayron is a deception of a thousandfold—containing no less than 14,000 forged signatures and 7,000 multiple entries, as well as the names of dead people. In fact, the petition’s signatures fell short of the required 15 percent of the total voting population. Simple math will tell us that the number of valid signatures required for the petition is 19,335. However, the validated signatures only number 13,567, or 5,768 signatures short of the minimum requirement.

Second, the recall petition, together with the trumped-up criminal charges against Mayor Bayron, is part of a brazen attempt to tarnish his reputation and derail the reform campaign of the people of Puerto Princesa. Attesting to his reformist leadership, Puerto Princesa received the Department of Interior and Local Government’s “2014 Seal of Good Governance for Good Financial Housekeeping.”

Within only a six-month period (July 2013-December 2013), Bayron reduced the P663-million cash deficit left behind by former Puerto Princesa mayor Edward Hagedorn, as reported by the Commission on Audit, by as much as P233 million. The bank loans Bayron inherited in 2013 (P1.5 billion) are now down to only P985 million. And another P159 million of financial obligations has been fully settled by the city government, including the P34 million owed to Palawan Electric Cooperative. Programs that address poverty and the education needs of the people are already on stream.

In 2014, under Bayron’s watch, 740,272 tourists visited Puerto Princesa, beating his predecessor’s highest record. In his first seven months in office, tourist arrivals exceeded 12,000, the highest record for the same duration during Hagedorn’s term.

It is thus profoundly stupefying why the likes of a highly respected columnist like Cruz continue to believe in the validity of this deceptive recall petition even if the math and the politics don’t add up.

We therefore welcome the Comelec’s and other concerned institutions’ cautious handling of this matter. We are confident that their prudence will eventually uphold the will of the electorate resisting the machinations of a politician intent on returning to power and rolling back hard-fought reforms through a bogus recall petition.

This is not “dribbling the ball.” This is fair play, the birth right of all Filipinos.

—RODRIGO A. SAUCELO,

executive assistant IV,

Office of the City Mayor,

Puerto Princesa City