We care for KJ Mayaen

LETTER

Election into office begets money and power. But in every luring glow of money and power are commensurate negative returns because you cannot expect to appease everybody in your administrative functions, decisions and in the disbursement of public funds. People tend to label public officials as corrupt once they saw them purchase properties even if it came from their separate funds and worse, a single mistake will arouse ridicule that can affect not only their public image but even that of their private life and family.

Despite the risks, many people still venture to be elected into public office because of obsession to power. This however, has exceptions because there are few elected good men who consider public office as a public trust and for public service.

More often, many disguised themselves as public servants but their personal interest always lords over public service. After them, their children, wives and extended families will succeed because they are now moneyed and can buy their way to power. Too bad, many poor constituents are more qualified in terms of honesty and integrity, service orientation and intelligence but they could not propel their way to power for lack of funds and machinery. 

In Mountain Province, greed for money and power emboldens some people who tried to install Kathy Jyll Mayaen-Luis into power even at the expense of our legal processes. By hook or by crook, they tried to cross against the path of the law in order to get some time into power and participate in the disposition of almost half a billion pesos still intact in its coffer.

This fund accordingly is intended for infrastructure projects. Greed might also be the reason why they succeeded in convincing some professionals who worked during the elections to sacrifice their career, license and employment by raising the hands of a disqualified candidate.

But stop, look and listen. First, you convinced the Provincial Board of Canvassers to proclaim Kathy Jyll Mayaen in the evening of May 10, 2016, using the certificate of canvass and proclamation of his father. That was illegal because her certificate of candidacy was denied on May 7, 2016 and the PBOC received a formal copy of the denial in the morning of the proclamation day.

The PBOC cannot justify the votes of the late governor in favor of his daughter because the latter’s candidacy was earlier denied. How did you bear inciting these professionals to go against the will of the Comelec? Will you be there to support them and their families during a lasting fight for their innocence?

Second, your ultimate purpose is to install Kathy Jyll Mayaen as elected governor of Mountain Province come June 30, 2016 using the certificate of proclamation of the late governor. Looking from afar, the late Governor prepared his family for a simple and peaceful life.

He never trained his family members for politics and it was his best intention to end politics in himself. If it was not his intention, he should have asked nomination from a registered political party so that a member of his family could legally substitute him in any eventuality. Again, just like the members of the PBOC who were now charged with criminal and administrative cases, you want to sacrifice the career, license and even the liberty of Kathy Jyll Mayaen.

There are still three weeks before June 30, 2016, more enough time for you to meditate. Try consulting neutral and seasoned lawyers and politicians to avoid collateral damage. Kathy Jyll Mayaen has no document to intrude into office. She was fooled and made to believe that she was proclaimed as Governor of Mountain Province through the mere raising of her arms,

In truth and in fact, she is just standing on a blank document. What document has she got? Only the certificate of canvass and proclamation of her father and there was not even an annotation below or insertion above that her name is being proclaimed as substitute candidate. She cannot legally absorb the votes of her father because her certificate of candidacy was denied on May 7, 2016.

She was not given time to file a motion for reconsideration because she was ill advised to file her certificate of candidacy only on May 5, 2016 to give the Comelec no time to deny it. However, the Comelec anticipated the moves because of earlier publications. In the end, It was she herself who was not given time to file a motion for reconsideration and thereafter certiorari, which, would have been still pending on the day of the election.

The allegation of the PBOC that the Comelec cannot cancel her certificate of candidacy without due process has no anchor. First, her certificate of candidacy was filed out of time because she is an independent candidate. The filing of certificate of candidacy for independent candidates has lapsed in October 2015 and only registered political parties are allowed to do substitution after that period. Second, the determination by the Comelec of her certificate of candidacy is a mere administrative function that does not need adversarial proceedings. KJ Mayaen in effect is like an ordinary applicant for license, passport or tax declaration that can be turned down outright by the concerned agency, for lack of qualifications.

With the foregoing circumstances, KJ Mayaen would be at a loss if she will continue to hear wrong advises. She should not take her oath and insist on assuming office on June 30, 2016 without proper documentations. Certificate of proclamation is a requirement in the taking of oath and no officer would dare to administer her oath out of her father’s certificate of proclamation.

Thereafter, she cannot legally assume office because she does not possess the needed oath of office and certificate of proclamation, which, are needed by the DILG for her confirmation. Persistence on both aspects will result in the violation of the sanctity of an oath and/or perjury as the case may be, and every act constituting performance of the functions of a governor constitutes usurpation of authority.

Especially if she dares to disburse public funds, it would now be a case of malversation and worse, plunder depending on the amount. When the smoke is finally cleared, she can never assert good faith or innocence because she is a lawyer presumed to know and to have known the law.

We care for KJ Mayaen and we treasure the good legacy of her father. We hate to see her sacrifice her career, license and even liberty just to entertain a few. She is a doting mother to her young children and a loving wife to her husband. For God’s sake, Let us not disturb her happy, simple and peaceful family life.

We all know that public office is not a private property that can be inherited among family members. Let us wait for the special or regular election for us to lay our cards. There is no shortcut to the law because the law will always cut short those who try to cross against its path.

Let us adhere to the rule of law and fate will clear our way to power if we deserve it. By then, we can proudly shout to the world that we ascended into the throne through legal ways and through the voice of the majority. Thank you.

Name withheld on request