'Padaca can surely get a TRO'from court to prevent takeover

ISABELA- Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said there is no way that Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca can be unseated as she can be sure of getting a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the court to prevent Benjamin Dy from assuming her post in case the Commission on Elections will again favor Dy’s motion to implement its Second Division’s ruling.

“I will stop practicing election law if (Gov. Padaca) will be unseated because of such an anomalous decision. The (governor’s) case can even be won by a first-time lawyer if the (Comelec) is fair,” he said.

“Likewise, even an experienced lawyer (like me) will lose (the governor’s case) if the (same poll body) plays biased,” he said.

Macalintal issued these statements as Dy has asked the Comelec to immediately implement the Second Division decision unseating Padaca and installing him as governor.

In a nine-page motion for the immediate issuance of a writ of execution, Dy sought the annulment of the proclamation of Padaca in 2007.

“It is evident that protestant Dy is the duly–elected governor of the province of Isabela with a total of 199,435 votes as against 198,384 votes for protestee Padaca or a margin of 1,051 votes,” he said in his motion.

Dy was referring to the Second Division’s resolution nullifying the more than 17,000-vote margin supposedly garnered by Padaca that led to her proclamation.

“The resolution clearly established the victory of protestant Dy and the overwhelming defeat of protestee Padaca. The revision and subsequent appreciation of the ballots from the contested precincts has indubitably shown that the alleged victory of protestee Padaca was a product of massive fraud perpetuated throughout the entire province of Isabela,” the motion stated.

Dy said Comelec should order Padaca to “relinquish” the governorship to him.

“Considering that less than a year or only six months remain in the term of an elected provincial governor, it goes without saying that time is of the essence,” he added.

Earlier, Macalintal said the Second Division order ousting Padaca “is a big blow to the integrity of the Commission. I don’t know how we could still trust (the poll body) with this kind of decision in future cases. I have some clients who are victims of scandalous decisions of the Comelec. What a shame!”

Lawyer Donna Lerona, Padaca’s legal counsel, earlier submitted before the Comelec central office in Manila their 800-page motion seeking to overturn the more than 12,000-page Second Division decision, beating the prescribed five-day period to contest the ruling.

Padaca vowed to fight her ouster all the way to the Supreme Court “(if the Comelec) will ignore justice and public opinion and issue again a decision favorable to Dy.”

Earlier, the Dy camp said they would let the legal process take its course, dismissing rumors that they would use force or violence to take over the Isabela capitol.-- CL