Interpretation

LET us face it. A lot of things happening in the run up to the elections next year will be interpreted in various ways. An example is the one involving a councilor from one district who transferred his residence to another district.

Can he skirt term limits and run for the same position simply because he would be voted on by another set of voters? Can he be disqualified? Another political concern that may need to be clarified and resolved is the case of an incumbent who has decided to run for another elective position, but in another elective public office. Should he resign or vacate his current elective position?

The two instances I have cited above are presently subject of petitions by interested parties or individuals before the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Team Rama in Cebu City has filed petition before Comelec in Manila seeking to disqualify two candidates in the 2013 elections.

One of the two petitions for disqualification is actually, to me, a matter of clarification. It seeks to deny due course or cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Cebu City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. of Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

Pe is running for councilor in the north district despite his having served for three terms as south district councilor. Councilor Jose Daluz III, the campaign manager of Team Rama, said that Pe is councilor in general, not councilor of just a district.

The other petition concerns the candidacy of Councilor Raul Alcoseba, who has decided to run for the post of Provincial Board member representing the first district. The petition seeks clarification from the Comelec on whether Alcoseba should be disqualified or not if he remains a councilor. Daluz said that that they will await word from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the matter.

Well, for one thing, to let them do so is like letting them bake their cake and eat it, too. Then there is the case of one Bert Abella, who has reportedly filed his COC as an independent candidate for Cebu City councilor. Two of Team Rama's bets for councilor, Tricia Haya and Raddy Diola, filed a petition against Abella as a nuisance candidate.

Team Rama believes that Abella will not be able to wage a campaign, which is one of Comelec's "description of a nuisance candidate." The complaints need to be resolved as soon as possible by the DILG and the Comelec in order to set things straight before all concerned under our laws.

Indeed, depending upon how the DILG and the Comelec would interpret and implement our election laws, so will our 2013 elections be, in the end, a success or a failure, peaceful or wrought with violence.