Mendoza told to vacate office: Comelec declares Obet as Bulacan governor

The Commission on Elections Tuesday declared Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganan as the duly elected governor of Bulacan in the 2007 mid-term polls.

The Comelec’s Second Division, in a resolution, said the recount of the votes of Pagdanganan and his opponent Gov. Joselito Mendoza revealed the former garnered a total of 342,295 votes compared to Mendoza’s 337,974 votes.

The poll body directed Gov.Joselito Mendoza to “immediately vacate the Office of the Provincial Governor of Bulacan; cease and desist from discharging the functions thereof; and peacefully turnover the said office to protestant Pagdanganan.”

Pagdanganan welcomed the Comelec’s decision.

“Right from the start, I was confident that I was the elected governor of Bulacan. This decision of the Comelec proves me right,” he said.

Although he expects Mendoza to question the ruling by filing a motion for reconsideration, Pagdanganan said he would lodge a motion for “execution pending appeal” to have his rival unseated soon.

“I’m confident that I can assume the post before the term expires next year. With the time left for me (as governor) I can still do so many things for the people of Bulacan,” he said.

Mendoza was proclaimed winner in the 2007 polls after supposedly garnering 15,000 votes over him. Mendoza purportedly got 364,566 votes.

But Pagdanganan filed an electoral protest before the Comelec, paving the way for the recount.