A YEAR AFTER ELECTIONS, BANTAYAN HAS 2 MAYORS, TEMPORARILY: ESCARIO ASKS DILG TO LET HIM TAKE OFFICE
Ian Christopher Escario has taken oath as mayor of Bantayan town, but he will have to show the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) a piece of paper before he can assume office. The DILG has yet to get the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) declaration of Escario as the rightful mayor of Bantayan, after the Supreme Court upheld its ruling to disqualify Arthur Despi. Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Antonio Montemar has gone to court to challenge Escario’s assumption of office, saying that based on the rules on succession, he should be the one to take over as mayor. At the heart of the dispute is Comelec’s finding that the certificate of nomination and acceptance that Despi submitted, as a substitute candidate, was invalid.
Ian Christopher Escario in Manila to get a copy of the Comelec order declaring him mayor of Bantayan town.
I am not in a hurry (to assume my post). I am willing to wait. IAN ESCARIO
Despite the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) declaring him as the mayor of Bantayan town, Ian Christopher Escario failed to assume his post.
This, after an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) 7 said they need to see the Comelec’s decision before asking incumbent Bantayan Mayor Arthur Despi to vacate his post.
DILG 7 Director Rene Burdeos told SunStar Cebu that they want to get hold of the copy of the Special Municipal Board of Canvassers’s (BOC) decision.
Burdeos disclosed that Escario spoke to him over the phone yesterday.
The latter promised to provide DILG 7 with a copy of the Comelec’s decision today.
With this, Despi is not allowed to make any transactions in behalf of the Bantayan Municipal Government.
In an interview over TV Patrol- Central Visayas yesterday, Despi stood firm on his plan to block Escario’s assumption as the town’s new chief executive.
Vice Mayor Antonio Montemar, in the same report, said that he is waiting for the decision of the Regional Trial Court in Bogo City on the quo warranto case he filed, which challenged Escario’s Former Bantayan mayor Arthur Despi plans to block Ian Christopher Escario’s assumption as the town’s new chief executive. right to hold office.
Under the rule of succession, Montemar believes that he should be the one to serve as mayor of the town and not Escario.
Montemar denied the allegations that the filing of the case was influenced by Despi.
The vice mayor is hoping, though, that wherever fate leads them, he, Despi and Escario will remain friends.
Montemar admitted he is close to Despi and Escario.
Escario, however, belittled Montemar’s filing of a case.
Escario is in Manila to secure a copy of the Comelec order.
He also said he will coordinate with the DILG Central Office so it can order the DILG 7 to officially install him as the new mayor.
It was last Monday when the Special BOC appointed by Comelec Manila proclaimed Escario as the duly elected mayor of Bantayan.
He then took his oath of office before Justice Andres Reyes, the presiding judge of the Court of Appeals in Manila.
Despi, however, opposed the Comelec’s decision.
He filed a temporary restraining order last May 3 to prevent its implementation . /