Yt Framework

Adelante Zamboanga chairman Jomar Lobregat through his legal counsel Atty. Jose Maria Saavedra yesterday afternoon officially filed with the Comelec office a petition seeking to disqualify the voter’s registration of former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo Jalosjos in District 2.

The younger brother of Mayor Celso Lobregat who is also a congressional aspirant of District 2 disclosed that in 1997, Jalosjos had been sentenced by the court on two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness with the penalty of Reclusion Perpetua and Reclusion Temporal respectively or life imprisonment, thus lost his rights to vote or be voted upon.

“So it is very clear that he is perpetually disqualified from voting or running in the coming elections and be voted upon because under the Omnibus Election Code any person who has been sentenced by final judgement to suffer imprisonment for not less than one year loses that right,” Lobregat said.

He reasoned out the filing of the petition was only done now because the Comelec was busy attending other election matters and has scheduled the filing of any petition between July 3 to 9.

“This is the reason why we filed the petition only now because this is the right time to file and we are doing it to protect the city from convicts,” Lobregat stressed.

The hearing has been calendared on August 20 at the Comelec office located at the Joaquin Memorial Sports Complex, according to the Adelante de Zamboanga chair.

In earlier interviews, Jalosjos emphasized that at the time he was released from prison to present it is already more than five years so he has acquired back his rights of suffrage based from the Omnibus Election Code.'

“Even if that is true that he can reacquire his rights to vote after five years, but he was released from detention in the year 2009 and that means in the 2013 elections he is still short by one year because his five year period in acquiring back his rights to vote will be in 2014 yet,” Lobregat countered.

In the morning, District 2 Congresswoman Isabelle Climaco also filed a petition calling Comelec not to allow the registration of Jalosjos under District 2 because of similar complaints.

When asked why they filed the petition separately, Lobregat said if there will be technicalities on either of the petition the other will serve as back up.

He also called on other politicians or other individuals who want to protect Zamboanga  to join them in their fight.

Earlier, Jalosjos who was informed of the twin petitions said it is a desperate move adding he is ready to face and fight any move to disqualify him all the way to the Supreme Court.

by: Nonong Santiago