Bohol bet takes issue against poll official to Supreme Court

Local

A CONGRESSIONAL aspirant in Bohol’s First District has brought to the Supreme Court his appeal for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to implement rules on the reassignment of local election officers, citing concerns that prolonged tenures may compromise electoral neutrality.

In a petition for mandamus filed on April 10, Atty. Jordan M. Pizarras of Aksyon Demokratiko urged the High Court to compel Comelec to reassign Bohol Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Eliseo Labaria.

Labaria has held the position since 2010. Pizarras argued that the extended stay of election officials in a single province can affect their neutrality.

“Comelec should consider reassigning him to another post,” Pizarras said, referring to Labaria.

He cited Section 44 of Republic Act No. 8189 (Voter’s Registration Act of 1996), which limits the term of city and municipal election officers to four years before requiring reassignment to another congressional district.

He also pointed to the Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881), which gives Comelec authority to transfer personnel for efficiency.

“This provision exists to safeguard the neutrality of election officers and to prevent undue familiarity with local political figures,” he said.

“While it explicitly pertains to city and municipal election officers, the same principle should logically apply to provincial officers as well,” he added.

Before elevating the matter to the High Court, Pizarras had proposed that Comelec reassign Cebu Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Marchel Sarno to Bohol in place of Labaria.

He also suggested Atty. Jerome Brillantes, the election supervisor of Siquijor, or another qualified official as a potential replacement.

Pizarras noted that Labaria had only briefly left Bohol in 2023, when he temporarily switched roles with Eddie Aba during the barangay elections in Negros Oriental.

He warned that Labaria’s continued presence in Bohol for over a decade could cast doubt on the credibility of the elections.(MyTVCebu)