Recall election win in 2002 not counted as first term

MANILA, Philippines--The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday gave the go signal to Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn's re-election bid in May, dismissing the disqualification case filed against him by a city resident.

A certain Bienvenido Rodriguez, a Puerto Princesan, said in his petition that Hagedorn cannot run for mayor in this election because he has already served 3 consecutive terms, the maximum allowed by the Constitution and the Local Government Code. The petitioner counted from the time Hagedorn was elected in a recall election against Mayor Dennis Socrates in 2002.

However, the Comelec's first division dismissed the petition, saying that Hagedorn's victory in the recall election was not counted as a first term because it was not a regular election. His victory in 2004, a regular election, was therefore the start of his first term; his 2007 re-election signaled only his second term. Thus, Hagedorn's eligibility to run for the same position in May.

Hagedorn had served 3 consecutive terms from 1992 to 2001. Having reached the term limit for a mayor, he ran for governor of Palawan in 2001, but lost. In 2002, a recall election was held against Puerto Princesa Mayor Socrates, and Hagedorn was one of the challengers; Hagedorn won.

In the 2002 recall election, his rivals petitioned the Comelec to disqualify Hagedorn, saying that he had reached the 3-term limit in 2001 and was therefore banned from seeking a fourth term. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the term limit applies only to terms won in regular elections. A recall election, the tribunal said, was a special election, was therefore not counted as a fourth term.

Like Roman in Bataan
In its decision Friday, the Comelec adopted that interpretation by the Supreme Court, saying that the term served by a candidate who wins a recall election should not be considered as a full term.

Hagedorn's case is similar to the case of former Bataan governor Leonardo Roman.

Roman was defeated in the gubernatorial race 1992 by former Rep. Enrique Garcia Jr. A group of barangay chairpersons initiated a recall election in 1993, which allowed Roman to dislodged Garcia. Roman also won both the 1995 and 1998 gubernatorial races.

When Roman was seeking the governorship in 2001, he faced a disqualification case on the same grounds--he had reached his 3-term limit.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled that the remaining term of Garcia that Roman served after winning the recall election was not counted as one term. The SC said that Roman's first term started in 1995. (Newsbreak)