Evidence 'a product of post-election manipulation,' says rival's lawyer

On the deadline for filing candidacies for the next elections Tuesday , the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed Roberto Pagdanganan as the rightful winner of the gubernatorial contest in Bulacan in 2007.

The 2nd division of the Comelec has annulled the proclamation of Bulacan Governor Joselito Mendoza, and ordered him "to immediately vacate the position as the governor of Bulacan, cease and desist from discharging the functions thereof and peacefully turnover the position to Pagdanganan.”

The poll body ordered the Department of the Interior of Local Government to implement the decision.

However, Mendoza is allowed to file an appeal. The case will then be elevated to the Comelec en banc. Mendoza's lawyer, former Comelec regional director Roque Bello, said the evidence were manipulated while the protest was ongoing, thus the reversal of the count.

In 2007, Mendoza won in 14 out of 24 towns, barely beating Pagdanganan. Mendoza got 364,566 votes while Pagdanganan got 348,834 votes. Their battle then was seen as a proxy war between Mendoza's sister, 3-term governor Josefina dela Cruz, and Pagdanganan, who was trying to re-take the position that he left in 1998.

It was also considered a proxy battle between Malacañang and Dela Cruz, the latter for taking not toeing the administration line in major issues, such as pushing for the revision of the Constitution.

'Historic vindication'

Pagdanganan filed an election protest saying that various election fraud has been committed like misreading of ballots and reading of fake and unofficial ballots.

The 2nd division of the poll body--composed of Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, and Elias Yusoph--said that the result of the revision of ballots showed that Pagdanganan defeated Mendoza by a narrow margin. Pagdanganan garnered 342,295 votes, or a lead of 4,231 votes over Mendoza, the decision said.

“The election protest is granted. The proclamation of protestee, Joselito R. Mendoza, is annulled and set aside. Accordingly, protestant Roberto Pagdanganan is hereby proclaimed as the duly elected governor of the province of Bulacan,” reads the dispositive portion of the 713-page decision.

“It’s a historic vindication not only for my family but also for the people of Bulacan,” Pagdanganan told Newsbreak a few minutes after the promulgation of the decision.

Pagdanganan has served as governor of Bulacan for three terms until 1998, during which Dela Cruz was his vice governor. He ran for senator under Lakas in 1998, and was believed to have been deprived of the last winning slot by election operators that the opposition hired for Tessie Aquino-Oreta. In 2001, he made another bid for the Senate and lost again. From 2004 to 2007, he served as president of the Philippine International Trading Corp., a government corporation.

Bello, counsel for Mendoza , said that they will file a motion for reconsideration within the prescribed period. “The decision is contrary to the evidence. I say and I tell you that the entire people of Bulacan know that that is contrary to the fact,” Bello told Newsbreak.

“It was a product of post-election manipulation,” Bello added.

Mendoza told Newsbreak over the phone that he's not surprised with the decision. He thinks politics is behind all of this. “We’ve been told since last week of the decision. I think this happens because we jumped ship from Lakas to the Liberal Party,” Mendoza said in a telephone interview.

Congress in 2010

Interestingly, neither Mendoza nor Pagdanganan are running for governor next year.

Mendoza is running for representative of Bulacan’s third district against incumbent Lorna Silverio. He thinks his potential rivals are behind it. “I think they are ones spending for it.”

Mendoza's sister, Dela Cruz, is seeking the governorship again.

Pagdanganan, for his part, told Newsbreak that he's seeking the congressional seat of the first district next year.

Asked why he chose to run for Congress instead of running for governor, Pagdanganan said he thinks he can serve better as congressman than as governor.

“I want to focus on agriculture and universal health care,” Pagdanganan said.

Newsbreak asked Pagdanganan if he was offered to run for senator by any parties. He said they were discussions, but he declined to name the parties that talked to him. He said he refused them because he is more interested in running for Congress, given his “limited resources and exposure.” (Newsbreak)