MANILA, Philippines – Pending petitions to remove 5 local officials got a fresh start after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decided to resume proceedings on recall elections.

The poll body also said it would now be able to augment funds to prepare for possible recall elections in 2015.

The poll body earlier suspended all recall proceedings, citing lack of funds. This invited criticisms from some camps, which pointed out that Comelec had savings it could tap, and was even obliged to have a standby fund for this mandate.

On November 21, through Comelec Resolution No. 9912, the suspension of recall proceedings was partially lifted. The poll body will go ahead and allow at least the publication and posting of the accepted petitions against Puerto Princesa Mayor Lucilo Bayron and Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado.

However, the next step, which is the verification of signatures in the petition, would remain suspended until the Comelec’s 2015 national budget is approved to include funds for the actual conduct of recall elections.

The poll body granted the request of the petitioners in the Puerto Princesa and Bulacan cases to allow their publication for 3 weeks. Comelec said the petitioners shall shoulder the expenses related to publication requirements. (Fast Facts: The recall process)

The Comelec resolution also directed its Office of the Deputy Executive Director for Operations (ODEDO) and concerned election officers to resume reviewing and evaluating the recall petitions against the following officials:

• Mayor Carolina Dellosa of Baliuag, Bulacan
• Mayor Oscar Moreno of Cagayan de Oro City
• Mayor Marnelli Robles of Bulan, Sorsogon

Recall petitions against Bayron and Sy-Alvarado have been deemed sufficient in form, but the Comelec, through two resolutions issued on April 1 and May 27, suspended further proceedings – including verification of the signatures – for these petitions due to lack of funds.

The other 3 petitions, filed after the suspension of proceedings, were likewise parked until the funding issue is resolved.

In a text message to Rappler, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that a line item for recall elections was included in the errata for the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or the national budget that was submitted to Congress by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in late October.

Therefore, the Comelec may now augment funds for activities leading to possible recall elections in 2015, Jimenez explained. – Rappler.com