 |
| Aga Muhlach … fate is hanging |
ACTOR Aga Muhlach asked the Court of
Appeals (CA) on Thursday to set aside the ruling of a local court in San Jose,
CamSur that directed the provincial election registration board to delist him
and wife Charlene Gonzales from the official list of voters for the May polls.
If implemented, Muhlach is in danger of
being disqualified as candidate for the fourth congressional district of
Camarines Sur.
He is running under the ruling Liberal
Party.
In a 50-page petition filed through
lawyer Romulo Macalintal, the celebrity couple likewise asked the CA to issue a
temporary restraining order or a status quo ante order against the Dec 17, 2012
ruling of the RTC, saying they will suffer irreparable injury and that they
will be deprived of their constitutional right to vote.
Petitioners further alleged that the
respondent RTC committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess
of jurisdiction in refusing their registration as voters of San Jose even when
the court found that petitioners “have been residents of San Juan, San Jose,
Camarines Sur, from (at the very least) 17 February 2012 or one year and three
months before the May 13, 2013 elections, which is more than the
constitutionally mandated six months immediately preceding the election
requirement.”
Macalintal said that petitioners were
not given the opportunity to be heard on appeal without their memorandum, and
the RTC did not even bother to consider any of the evidence on record, which
paved the way for the respondent RTC to arbitrarily, whimsically and capriciously
order the exclusion of petitioners from the voter’s list.
“The
assailed Decision dismissing the appeal and granting the petition for exclusion
of petitioners as voters of San Jose, Camarines Sur is without substantial
basis is arbitrary, capricious and whimsical exercise of judgment equivalent to
grave abuse of discretion,” the petition stated.
They said the petition for the exclusion
filed against the Muhlachs on October 5 was premature and precipitately filed
because the six-month period of residency before the May 13, 2013 election was
yet to begin on November 14, 2012.
Petitioners claimed that if the May 12,
2012 period to register is to be strictly followed, then a lot of voters who
registered before that date could be disqualified, including former President
Joseph Estrada who registered as new voter of Manila on May 10, 2012.
“If
Estrada could register early, why not the Muhlachs? What is sauce for Estrada
should likewise be sauce for the Muhlachs,” said Macalintal in the petition.
Records show that the Muhlachs filed
their application for registration as voters of San Jose, Camarines Sur on
March 19, 2012. The Election Registration Board (ERB) of San Jose approved
their registration on Sept 28, 2012.
On Oct 5, a petition for their exclusion
was filed by some registered voters of San Jose alleging their alleged
non-compliance with the period of residency required of a voter.
Three weeks later, the Municipal Circuit
Trial Court (MCTC) of San Jose reversed the decision of the ERB.
The Muhlachs appealed the MCTC decision
to the RTC, but they were denied in its Dec 17 decision, prompting them to
elevate the case before the CA. – SunStar
No comments:
Post a Comment