Palawan's Hagedorn can run as mayor again, Comelec says

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division on Friday junked the petition seeking to disqualify Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn from the 2010 mayoral race. The poll body dismissed the disqualification case filed against Hagedorn by Bienvenido Rodriguez for “lack of merit," the commission said in a resolution promulgated on Friday. Rodriguez had asserted in his petition – filed last December – that Hagedorn should be disallowed from seeking reelection because he had already served three consecutive terms. Section 43 of the Philippines’ Local Government Code disallows officials from serving three straight terms in the same position. Hagedorn had served as Puerto Princesa mayor from 1992 to 2001. He ran for governor of Palawan in 2001 but lost. But in 2002, then Puerto Princesa Mayor Dennis Socrates was ousted, paving the way for special polls. Despite having served for three consecutive terms before Socrates, Hagedorn was allowed by the SC to run for the position again, saying the mayor’s less than a year hiatus excludes him from the Local Government Code provision. Hagedorn was also reelected to the same position in 2004 and 2007. The division agreed with the high tribunal's decision, saying that prohibited election refers to the next regular election for the same office after the end of the third consecutive term. But any subsequent election, like a recall election, is no longer covered by the prohibition. "The winner in the recall election cannot be charged or credited with the full term of three years for purposes of counting the consecutiveness of an elective official's terms in office," the Comelec said. - GMANews.TV