SAN Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez denied evading a notice from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) issued in December last year that ruled in favor of the petition for recall election against her.
“Who is evading? I am not,” Gomez said in an interview with the BusinessMirror. “They know where to find me. I am just here [in the mayor’s office] performing my duty. I am also busy with my meetings outside my office with other government agencies that I have to go to because I am busy with our housing projects for our informal settlers,” she added.
Comelec personnel arrived at the city hall late in the afternoon on Monday, but Gomez already left the building.
Gomez said she has been reporting for work since last week and held meetings in her conference room, signed official documents and performed her duties as local chief executive, contrary to the accusations hurled against her that she is avoiding the receipt of the notice of sufficiency from the Comelec.
For his part, former Vice Mayor Francis Zamora questioned the “absences” of Gomez during two flag-raising ceremonies. He believes that Gomez is just evading the notice. “She’s not even here now.”
To the claim of Gomez that she was not evading the notice, Zamora believes otherwise. “If it is true that she is not hiding, then she should go to Comelec San Juan and receive the notice of sufficiency herself, or at the very least, allow the election officer to serve it to her.”
However, few minutes after the interview with Zamora, Gomez arrived in the city hall to attend a scheduled meeting.
For his part, Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito reiterated that her mother “will fight and follow due process.”
He also accused the camp of Zamora of bullying his 75-year-old mother. “They know her condition but they want to subject her to emotional and psychological stress, to weaken her.”
Gomez said that she was on leave from December 4 and it was unfortunate that the Comelec personnel who delivered the notice was not able to see her personally. She added that even she was not present in the city hall during the holidays, “ there were still some constituents who frequented my house asking for some assistance or help.”
She reiterated that she is not scared to face the petition against her and is ready to go about the process in the proper forum.
Last December the Commission en banc has ruled on the sufficiency of the recall petition against Gomez. With this, the poll body official added that the parties, upon receipt of notice, were given three days to file motions for reconsideration.