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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech and Digital News
PASIG CITY (SDN) — “CHAOS!”
FOR SURE, no one wants “chaos” to reign in the ranks of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the political group that made then senator Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. the country’s President in May 2022.
Especially, that the Commission on Elections (Comelec), whose head, Chair George Erwin Garcia, is facing a gauntlet of legal hurdles, may issue this month of August the guidelines on the forthcoming May 2025 national, regional, and local elections (NRLE).
Be that as it may, that’s the warning that former congressman and governor of Catanduanes lawyer Leandro “Lee” Verceles, Jr. on Wednesday, August 14, at the Kapihan sa Metro East Media Forum in Pasig City, Metro Manila.
On their side, Verceles is PFP national president of which under him the party had filed an Omnibus Petition at the Comelec, seeking recognition that their camp is the “legitimate” PFP group.
With Verceles at the third iteration of the Media Forum were architect Butch Baliao, secretary general, PFP-National Capital Region (NCR); Julius Caesar Aguiluz, senior political adviser, PFP; Rajah “Jun” Gonzales, chair, PFP-Region IX; and Alexander Agustin, chair, PFP-Region XI.
It can be recalled that PFP Chair Abubakar Mangelen lodged a criminal complaint with the City Prosecutors’ Office (CPO) at Manila City Hall against South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo S. Tamayo, Jr., and his fellow PFP officials Thompson C. Lantion, and lawyer George S. Briones on July 5.
Mangelen’s complaint was followed by another one filed jointly also at the Manila CPO by Assam Ulangkaya, PFP vice president for Mindanao, and Agustin and on July 8.
In relation with the complaints, the Manila CPO fiscal in whose sala the complaints are lodged conducted a preliminary hearing on the morning of August 14, but the Tamayo camp did not show up, said the camp of Verceles.
After the no-show, SDN – SciTech and Digital News was told that the Manila CPO branch fiscal might be constrained to issue a resolution on the complaints in the next hearing scheduled on August 22 if Tamayo’s camp still fails to show up.
It was learned further by SDN that Tamayo’s PFP camp sent a representative to the Manila CPO branch on August 7 requesting for more time to present their counter-affidavit on the issues raised by Verceles’s camp.
At the Kapihan, Verceles issued his warning of what may transpire in the May 2025 elections if the Comelec fails to decide on their Omnibus Petition before the Comelec En Banc challenging the legitimacy of the leadership of Tamayo, et al.
Verceles’ camp prayed that their camp should be resolved as the “legitimate PFP”, alleging Tamayo’s camp of “misrepresentation”. The former governor filed the petition on March 4, also this year.
The Omnibus Petition asserted that the respondents who were voted into the PFP on September 18, 2021, had their two-year terms expire after September 18, 2023.
Verceles camp’s complaints at the Manila CPO charged Tamayo, Lantion, and Briones for alleged forgery, falsification of public documents and violation of the cybercrime law.
Verceles bristles at idea of reconciliation with Tamayo camp
The former Catanduanes governor was asked at the Kapihan by reporters of what he sees may happen if the Comelec did not resolve their petition before the May 2025 election guidelines are issued.
Anyway, he surmised the poll body may issue the guidelines any day this month of August, as filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COC) is said to be on October 1.
“Chaos,” Verceles predicted as he fielded questions from reporters, members of the PaMaMariSan Rizal Press Corps which organizes and hosts the weekly forum in partnership with Pinoy Ako Advocacy Group.
In saying “chaos”, he said a situation may potentially occur during next year’s political exercise where the two PFP camps each has its own candidate for the same position. He was apparently referring to bets for municipal, city, provincial, regional (BARMM or Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), and national levels.
In which case, he said, the other camp’s bet may become party-less, or independent, emphasizing his camp wil assert itself as the legitimate PFP group. He said party-less candidates may not be able to have watchers during the elections, among other inconveniences.
“If the Comelec would not come out with a resolution of the leadership dispute of the PFP,” Verceles said, they “will issue a statement to the effect that they are the legitimate group based on the Constitution and By-Laws (CBL) of the PFP or, based on the prevailing law and not law of men.”
Aguiluz, the PFP senior political adviser, gave a hint of what they would do should the Comelec fails to decide on their Omnibus Petition.
“”I believe the Comelec will decide in our favor. If it’s the other way around, we will go on and file a motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court,” he said.
Agustin shared the sentiments, saying if the tide goes against them, they will continue to use the name of the PFP, believing they are the legitimate ones and that they were the ones who made sacrifices for the party, until such time the Supreme Court rules on the issue.
Verceles, on the other hand, when asked, adamantly rejected any reconciliation with the camp of Tamayo, indicating that as far as their rift was concerned, they already crossed the Rubicon. (✓)