Pampanga town has new mayor, vice mayor

By George Trillo

SASMUAN, Pampanga– Less than a year before the next elections, this town is getting a new mayor and vice mayor.

The Commission on Elections issued its final order for this town’s chief executive, Nardo Velasco, “to immediately and peacefully vacate” the mayor’s office.

The poll body, in a four-page decision, said there is “no more legal impediment or obstacle” to carry out its earlier ruling unseating Velasco for failing the one-year residency requirement.

The decision dated Sept. 8 was signed by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo and Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle, Armando Velasco, and Elias Eusoph.

The poll body also ordered Vice Mayor Fernando Baltazar Jr. and senior municipal councilor Anastacio Agapito Jr. to assume the mayoral and vice mayoral posts, respectively, in accordance with the Local Government Code.

The Comelec ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the provincial and municipal police to “immediately” enforce its order.

As of yesterday though Sept. 10, the order had yet to be implemented amid heavy flooding in this town.

Velasco’s ouster stemmed from the complaint of defeated mayoral candidate Mozart Panlaqui filed even before the May 2007 polls, arguing that Velasco was unqualified to run for mayor as he lacked the residency requirement.

Velasco had resided in the United States and returned to this town only a few months before the 2007 polls.

Despite the complaint, Velasco, who ran under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, won and was proclaimed amid protests from Panlaqui, his only rival, who was the candidate of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi). Baltazar, Panlaqui’s running mate, however, won as vice mayor.

This town is under the second congressional district that includes nearby Lubao where President Arroyo is a registered voter.