By JOENALD MEDINA RAYOS
BATANGAS City – PALAISIPAN pa rin ngayon sa takbo ng pulitika sa lunsod na ito kung sino at paano magtatalaga ng hahalili o ipapalit sa posisyong nabakante sa Sangguniang Panlunsod bunsod ng pagkamatay ni Kagawad Glenn Aldover na sumakabilang-buhay, Miyerkules ng umaga, Oktubre 10.
Halos siyam (9) na buwan pa ang nalalabi sa termino ni Aldover bilang kagawad ng Sangguniang Panlunsod, at tulad ng ibang posisyong halalin (elective position) sa pamahalaan, may sadyang nakatakdang panuntunan o batas na gumigiya sa pagtatalaga ng kapalit sa nasabing posisyon.
Batay sa itinatadhana ng Local Government Code of 1991 ang pagkabakante sa posisyon sa Sanggunian, dulot ng pagkamatay ng isang kagawad ay malinaw na nakasaad sa Seksyon 45 ng nasabing batas.
Ganito ang isinasaad sa batas:
x x x
Section 45. Permanent Vacancies in the Sanggunian. –
(a) Permanent vacancies in the sanggunian where automatic succession provided above do not apply shall be filled by appointment in the following manner:
(1) The President, through the Executive Secretary, in the case of the sangguniang panlalawigan and the sangguniang panlungsod of highly urbanized cities and independent component cities;
(2) The governor, in the case of the sangguniang panlungsod of component cities and the sangguniang bayan;
(3) The city or municipal mayor, in the case of sangguniang barangay, upon recommendation of the sangguniang barangay concerned.
(b) Except for the sangguniang barangay, only the nominee of the political party under which the sanggunian member concerned had been elected and whose elevation to the position next higher in rank created the last vacancy in the sanggunian shall be appointed in the manner herein above provided. The appointee shall come from the same political party as that of the sanggunian member who caused the vacancy and shall serve the unexpired term of the vacant office. In the appointment herein mentioned, a nomination and a certificate of membership of the appointee from the highest official of the political party concerned are conditions sine qua non, and any appointment without such nomination and certification shall be null and void ab initio and shall be a ground for administrative action against the official responsible therefore.
(c) In case or permanent vacancy is caused by a sanggunian member who does not belong to any political party, the local chief executive shall, upon recommendation of the sanggunian concerned, appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.
(d) In case of vacancy in the representation of the youth and the barangay in the sanggunian, said vacancy shall be filled automatically by the official next in rank of the organization concerned.
x x x
Kung nagkataong si Aldover ay primera konsehal ng lunsod at ang pagkabakante ng posisyong iniwan niya ay dulot ng pag-angat niya ng posisyon para punan ang nabakanteng posisyon ng bise alkalde, ang susunding panuntunan ay ang probisyon ng Seksyon 45, par. (a).
Ngunit dahil sa ang pagkabakante ng posisyon sa konseho na kailangang mapunuan ay resulta ng pagkamatay ni Aldover na hindi naman primera konsehal kundi isang regular na kasapi ng Sanggunian, ang pagkabakanteng ito ay pupunan batay sa probisyon ng Seksyon 45, par. (b)
Ganito rin ang malinaw na isinasaad sa Memorandum Circular No. 151 ng Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) na ipinalabas noong Marso 25, 1992:
“Sec. 2. Where a permanent vacancy exists in the sangguniang panlalawigan, the sangguniang panlungsod and the sangguniang bayan involved, such vacancy shall be filled by the appointment of the nominee who belongs to the same political party under which the sanggunian member concerned who caused the last vacancy had been elected.”
May ilang termino ring nanungkulan bilang kagawad ng pamahalaang lunsod ng Batangas, at ito ay matapos isyang maihalal sa ilalim ng magkakaibang partido pulitikal.
Noong May 2013 elections, kumandidato at nanalo si Aldover sa ilalim ng Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) kasama ng mayoriya ng mga opisyal sa lunsod.
Noon namang nakaraang May 2016 elections, nanumpa, tumakbo at naihalal bilang kagawad si Aldover sa ilalim ng Liberal Party (LP). Ngunit noong Setyembre 21, 2018 o 20 araw bago siya binawian ng buhay ay nanumpa muli si Aldover bilang kasapi ng Nacionalista Party (NP) bilang paghahanda sa susunod an halalan sa Mayo 2019.
Pahayag ni Atty. Ibarra Gutierrez III ng University of the Philippines College of Law, “malinaw ang isinasaad ng Local Government Code at ng Memorandum Circular No. 151 ng DILG na ang Liberal Party (LP) ang may karapatang mag-nominate ng magiging kapalit ni Aldover sa konseho sapagkat Liberal Party is the political party under which the sanggunian member concerned who caused the last vacancy (Aldover) had been elected.”|#BALIKAS_News
