Friday, January 30, 2015

Antique on brink of chaos as Mar Roxas dilly-dallies

“A perfection of means, and confusion of aims, seems to be our main problem.” Albert Einstein

By Alex P. Vidal


INSTEAD of an ounce of prevention, a pound of cure is now needed to solve the leadership crisis that hit Antique, which now has two governors.
With two governors—Exequiel Javier and Rhodora Cadiao—jockeying for the post, Antiquenos are now in a state of confusion as to who they will recognize.
Even supporters of the two governors are starting to get restless and irritated by the perplexing turn of events.
The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) led by Secretary Mar Roxas hasn’t intervened.
If Roxas was decisive enough, the political standoff in Antique would have been prevented earlier.
Antique needs a win-win solution to its problem at the capitol.
A phone call to Javier convincing him to step down over the weekend would have been enough to avoid the leadership crisis.
Roxas would have reminded Javier that in Laguna, Governor ER Ejercito left capitol peacefully in May 2014 after being convinced by his uncle, Manila Mayor Erap Estrada, thus averting any violence.
Ejercito was also disqualified by the Comelec for election overspending.
DILG was supposed to serve the writ of execution issued by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which earlier disqualified Javier for violation of Omnibus Election Code.
A week had passed since a transition of power was supposed to take place at the Antique capitol when Javier failed to secure a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Supreme Court, but the DILG didn’t show up to install Vice Governor Cadiao as the new governor.

CENTRAL

The writ of execution was still in the DILG central office in Manila and was not yet transmitted to the regional office as of press time, it was reported.
Meanwhile, Cadiao took her oath of office at the session hall of the Provincial Board in the old provincial capitol around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, January 29 administered by Atabay, San Jose Barangay Captain Jay Aster Hiponia.
After the oath-taking, Cadio declared: “I am both humbled and honored by this great task of assuming the leadership as governor of our province in this time of great crisis. Twenty-seven years ago we lived in a shadow of fear and despair. Today, we start a new day to live in the sublime sunshine of hope and change.”
Javier asserted that there was no vacancy in the governor’s office insisting that only the Supreme Court can oust him.
Comele Chairman Sixto Brillantes, however, declared that Javier’s disqualification was final and executory.
Javier’s Waterloo came after he suspended Valderrama Mayor Joyce Roquero in January 2013 in violation of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the suspension of local elected officials within election period.

REFUSE

Javier has refused to step down and his supporters continued to mass up in the capitol ground in San Jose de Buenavista to show support after he exhorted them earlier to “protect your votes” insisting that the Comelec ruling “is only temporary.”
With two governors, department heads are now in quandary.
If banks can’t decide which signature to acknowledge in capitol-issued checks, basic services will be hampered.
Once the writ of execution will be issued by the DILG regional office anytime, there is still no guarantee that Javier will relinquish his post.
He earlier said he would respect the decision of the Comelec.
But now, Javier said he will only obey the decision of the Supreme Court.
The events that will unfold in the next three weeks are worth watching.

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