MANILA, Philippines – Tensions ran high at the Puerto Princesa City coliseum in Palawan last weekend when Mayor Lucilo Bayron disrupted the proceedings on the verification of signatures in the recall petition filed against him.

Bayron reasoned that he was protesting the “railroading” of the “bogus” recall petition.

On Saturday, February 28, the city’s Commission on Elections (Comelec) office issued a resolution extending the verification of signatures in the recall petition until 11:59 pm, as there were only around 1,000 signatures left to verify.

Infuriated by the extension, Bayron stormed into the coliseum floor and confronted Comelec officer Mon Garduce, to tell him he wanted the verification process terminated already.  This was according to Alroben Goh, former city administrator and lead convenor of the Puerto Princesa City Recall Petition Coalition.

Bayron then got hold of a copy of the resolution and tore it to pieces, Goh said. His outburst was captured on video and uploaded to Youtube.

Shortly thereafter, Goh said, Buddy Tinay, coliseum manager and a Bayron appointee, announced that the Comelec’s operations inside the coliseum were to be discontinued.

Bayron’s supporters, reported Goh, then “swarmed from the bleachers section onto the coliseum floor where the proceedings were being held, forcing the Comelec officials to adjourn.”

The Comelec team moved to the office of the provincial election officer near the city hall to finish the verification proceedings, Goh continued.

Quoting election officer Orlando Ba-alan, Goh said that despite the disruption, a decision on the verification of the signatures would be issued within 24 hours, in compliance with recall procedures and guidelines. The results of the verification process would then be sent to the Comelec en banc in Manila for their decision.

The aggrieved party would be given 3 days to file an appeal, which the Comelec en banc should resolve within 15 days.

Goh also said that he and members of the recall petition coalition will file a complaint against the city police force, headed by Senior Superintendent Edgardo Wycoco, for failing “to protect and prevent any disruption of the recall proceedings” at the city coliseum.

Goh, an ally of former Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn, filed the recall petition against Bayron before the Comelec in March 2014 due to “loss of trust and confidence” in the mayor. This was over a series of alleged deterioration in the peace and order situation, the city’s poor tourism performance, and other governance issues.

The petition gathered 35,731 signatures, more than what was needed for it to prosper. Bayron filed motions to junk the petition due to supposed flaws, but the Comelec and the Supreme Court upheld its sufficiency.

If the recall petition is determined to be sufficient in form and substance, a recall election would proceed, with Bayron automatically named as candidate. If he loses in the recall election, he will be ousted from office. (FAST FACTS: The recall process)

Bayron does a ‘Cry of Pugad Lawin’

Bayron’s camp claimed that the extension of the verification process was unwarranted and outside of the established rules. They also maintained that his action was “reasonable.”

“Mayor Bayron merely expressed in a peaceful but firm manner the sentiment of the majority of citizens of Puerto Princesa who think the recall petition is a great injustice not only to him but to their pursuit of reforms,” said lawyer Winston Gonzales, counsel of the mayor, in a statement on Tuesday, March 3.

He claimed that the recall petition was “bogus,” citing reports of irregularities in the recall petition.

Among others, Gonzales claimed that concerned citizens have discovered “over 7,000 falsified signatures and over 7,000 multiple entries” as well as “signatures from dead people” in the petition. He also mentioned testimonies of many citizens who said they were unaware or did not sign any document related to the recall bid versus Bayron.

Gonzales said that Bayron had “kept his peace and strictly adhered to the rule of law.”  But in light of the “apparent bulldozing” of the recall petition,  it was incumbent upon Bayron, said Gonzales, “to put across their genuine sentiments on this bogus process.”

The lawyer likened Bayron’s act of tearing a copy of the resolution to what happened during the Cry of Pugad Lawin in 1896, wherein Katipuneros tore cedulas to signify their resentment against injustice during Spanish rule.

Bayron was the longtime vice mayor under the administration of mayor Edward Hagedorn. But in the 2013 midterm elections, Bayron vied for the mayoralty post, defeating Hagedorn’s wife Maria Elena. – Rappler.com