THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) will finally start on Wednesday the verification process of the 30,000 signatures for the recall petition filed against San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez.
This after the Comelec en banc promulgated a new resolution last week junking the motion for reconsideration filed by Gomez on January 18 on the recall petition by maintaining the 2-1-1 result of the voting they did on the issue on March 27, 2018.
“The commission resolved to adopt the recommendation of the law department that since no majority vote was reached upon rehearing of the motion for reconsideration, the same being incidental matter, should be denied,” the Comelec en banc said in its resolution promulgated on April 17.
On April 20 poll body issued an order to San Juan City Comelec Election Officer Gregorio Bonifacio to initiate the verification of the 30,000 signatures from April 25, 2018, to May 1, 2018.
“The verification of the signatures and thumbmarks of the petitioners in said petition for recall shall be conducted beginning 8 a.m. in the morning up to 5 p.m. at San Juan Knights Gym, San Juan Elementary School, Barangay Balong Bato, San Juan City,” the Comelec said in its memo given to Bonifacio.
In the recall petition in San Juan City, at least 15,000 signatures must be authenticated by the Comelec before it could conduct a recall election there.
During a demonstration on Monday, former San Juan City Vice Mayor Francis Zamora and his supporters lauded the decision of the Comelec to push through with the verification of the 30,000 signatures.
“It is the people of city of San Juan who will win if the recall election will be held. It will show their real will [on who should govern them],” Zamora said in Filipino.
While not a party to the recall petition against Gomez, Zamora was among those who supported it.
In 2016 Zamora ran against Gomez for the mayorship of San Juan City, where he lost by a slim margin of 1,000 votes. Zamora said he would again run against Gomez if the recall election pushes through.
“The past election is proof that people [of San Juan City] is seeking for a change,” Zamora said.
Sophia Patricia K. Gil, one of the petitioners against Gomez, admitted she and the other petitioners supported Zamora.
“There is no one who is brave enough to run except for him…and we also believe he is someone who cannot be bought,” Gil said in Filipino.
“Many of the people who signed [the recall petition] believe Zamora will run against Gomez,” she said.
Aside from Gil, the three other people who filed the recall petition were Raul V. Sevilla, Raymond V. Alzona and Jun Paul N. Aquino.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza