Torrijos Youth Celebrity Club

• Service to the community particularly in the Town of Torrijos and/or to the nation - 40 points
• Professional excellence and integrity in their field of endeavor - 40 points
• Leadership, including moral rectitude, innovativeness and pioneering spirit - 20 points

To be eligible, a candidate must be a young professional grew up or a residence of Torrijos, Marinduque working in the government, private or non-government organization. A young professional is defined by the club as being 30 years of age or younger.

Recipients should have a significant amount of service to the society and/or should have made a contribution that far exceeds normal expectations. It could be an exceptional contribution over the short term or a sustained contribution over the long term.

Nominations will be reviewed by the Honors & Awards Committee. Please fill in the details below and send it through email: info.marinduque@gmail.com, SMS: 0977.649.4754 or PM it directly to our facebook account. The committee will accept nomination until Feb 5, 2016, EOD.

The award will be presented in the annual gathering of Torrijos Youth Celebrity Club on February 27, 2016, Saturday at the Penthouse, Eastgate Center, 169 Edsa, Mandaluyong City.

Please click here to download the copy of the Nomination Form.

Supreme Court Building, Manila | Photo: Wikipedia

The House of Representatives is obliged to implement the Supreme Court’s order to swear in Lord Allan Jay Q. Velasco and include his name in its Roll of Members representing the lone district of Marinduque, lawyers said.

Former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Vicente Joyas and former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. should respect and implement the high court’s ruling granting Velasco’s plea for mandamus.

Early this month, the high court with an 8-1 vote, ruled that the administration of the oath and the registration of  Velasco as the duly-elected congressman for Marinduque “are no longer a matter of discretion or judgment” on the part of Belmonte.

The high court said its decision is “immediately executory.”

The high court’s ruling came after Velasco filed a petition for mandamus against Belmonte, House

Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap, and Reginal Ongsiako Reyes, his rival who had been disqualified as a congressional candidate by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the 2013 election.

Belmonte and Barua-Yap “are legally duty-bound to recognize Velasco as the duly elected Member of the House of Representatives for the Lone District of Marinduque in view of the ruling rendered by this Court and the Comelec’s compliance with the said ruling, now both final and executory,” the high court said in a decision written by Associate Justice Teresita J. Leonardo de Castro.

Published reports quoted Belmonte saying they have to wait for the Supreme Court decision which it has received last January 18.

Valdez, who is also chairman emeritus of the Association of Philippine Law Schools (APLS), said “since the SC ruling is immediately executory, Velasco can just take his oath and assume the position.”

“Congress must follow the decision” said Joyas for his part, stressing that “the officers of the House of Representatives are vested by law to implement the order of the Supreme Court.”

Joyas warned Belmonte and other officers of the Lower House that contempt proceedings could be pursued against them if they would defy the SC order.

“A contempt proceeding is always a remedy available to an aggrieved party in cases of disobedience to a lawful order of the court,” Joyas said.

He pointed out that Belmonte and the others could be sanctioned to pay a fine or be imprisoned, or both, if proven they have refused to implement the SC order.

Ruling favorably on Velasco’s petition, the SC said that “there is no longer any issue as to who is the rightful representative of the lone district of Marinduque” with the finality of its decision which affirmed the ruling of the Comelec that “correctly cancelled Reyes’ certificate of candidacy (COC) for member of the House of Representatives on the ground that she was ineligible for the subject position due to her failure to prove her Filipino citizenship and the requisite one-year residency in the province of Marinduque.”

It pointed out that “by virtue of Comelec en banc resolution dated May 14, 2013 in SPA No. 13-053; certificate of finality dated June 5, 2013 in SPA No. 13-053; Comelec en banc resolution dated June 19, 2013 in SPC N. 13-010; Comelec en banc resolution dated July 10, 2013 in SPA No. 13-053; and Velasco’s certificate of proclamation dated July 16, 2013, Velasco is the rightful representative of the lone district of the province of Marinduque; hence, entitled to a writ of Mandamus,” the SC ruled.

“Any ruling deviating from such established ruling will be contrary to the Rule of Law and should not be countenanced,” the SC warned.

Source and courtesy: Tetch Torres-Tupas, Inquirer.net

House Speaker Fernando Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte, Jr. Photo: InterAksyon

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. would rather follow the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) than the Supreme Court.

Belmonte yesterday said Regina Ongsiako Reyes would be keeping her seat as the representative of Marinduque which the Supreme Court had ruled she had no right to, until he had made a final decision on the issue.

“She (Reyes) will stay there until I do something. I will act on this one way or another before we go on campaign break on Feb. 9,” Belmonte told reporters.

The Supreme Court earlier upheld a Commission on Elections ruling disqualifying Reyes from the 2013 elections because she was not a natural-born citizen.

The Comelec was acting on a petition of Reyes’ rival in the Marinduque congressional race, Lord Allan Jay Velasco, the son of Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.

When the House refused to enforce the Supreme Court ruling and continued to recognize Reyes as the Marinduque representative, Velasco filed a mandamus petition with the high court.

On Jan. 12, the Supreme Court ordered Belmonte to unseat Reyes and swear in Velasco as the representative of Marinduque.

Belmonte said he could not decide whether or not to heed the high tribunal’s mandamus order because the HRET had decided last month to dismiss Velasco’s petitions against Reyes.

“We also had a decision of the HRET which in effect would have the same effect as the SC. They are independent of each other. I was thinking I should enforce, if at all, the HRET decision in consonance with the rules of the House. But there is also nothing wrong if you follow the SC. But for me, as Speaker, it is better to follow the HRET,” said Belmonte.

But a kink has emerged in the HRET voting after it was revealed that one of its members, Gabriela party-list member Luz Ilagan, should not have participated in the 4-3 vote.

Source and courtesy: Gil Cabacungan, Philippine Daily Inquirer

VOLLEYING BATTLE. For two years, the Marinduque's Congressional seat had been fought for by former Representative Llord Allan Velasco and incumbent Representative Regina Reyes | Photo: Rappler

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr said the House leadership is still studying whether to allow Lord Allan Jay Velasco to take oath as Marinduque congressman, as recently ordered by the Supreme Court (SC).

Velasco, son of SC Justice Presbitero Velasco, filed a petition for mandamus before the High Court in February 2014 after the House Electoral Tribunal (HRET) did not recognize him as Marinduque representative. He was contesting the position of congresswoman Regina Ongsiako Reyes.

This is the second time an order comes from the High Court to have Velasco installed as congressman. Belmonte had not implemented the first one, issued in 2013.

On January 11, the SC granted Velasco's petition with a vote of 8-1, ordering Speaker Belmonte to let Velasco take his oath and be included in the roster of House members and replace the incumbent.

The House of Representatives received the decision only on Monday, January 18, and Belmonte said they "are still studying" the SC's order.

According to the ruling, the Commission on Elections had already cancelled Reyes' certificate of candidacy (COC) by the time she took oath as congresswoman. The SC also stressed that it upheld Comelec's decision as "final and executory" in two resolutions issued June 25 and October 22, 2013.
Thus, the ruling said, "Comelec in SPC No. 13-010 cancelled respondent Reyes' proclamation and, in turn, proclaimed Velasco as the duly elected member of the House of Representatives."

"When Reyes took her oath of office before respondent Speaker Belmonte Jr in open session, Reyes had no valid COC nor a valid proclamation," it continued.

Like Grace Poe?Lawyer Harry Roque refuted the SC ruling to unseat Reyes, saying that his client's case must first be settled by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).

"They should not have decided on Velasco's petition because there is still no final decision from the HRET," Roque said in Filipino on Wednesday, January 20.

Roque likened Reyes' case to the disqualification case against presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe.

Both lawmakers have been questioned about their American citizenship. Roque noted that in Poe's case, the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) first decided on Rizalito David's petition to disqualify her before he elevated the case to the SC.

"Pareho naman ang issue ni [Representative] Reyes at Grace Poe. Pilipino naman ang mga magulang ni Reyes," Roque said. (The issue of Representative Reyes and Grace Poe are the same. Reyes' parents are both Filipinos.)

HRET decision: 'Void'Roque said the HRET released a decision on December 14, 2015, with a 4-3 vote favoring Velasco.
But Reyes' camp contested the HRET ruling, claiming that one of the votes favoring Velasco should not have been counted. That vote was cast by Gabriela Representative Luzviminda Ilagan, who, they said, should have been considered resigned by then.

Roque argued that when Ilagan filed her certificate of candidacy (COC) on October 12, 2015, to run for Davao City councilor, she forfeited her seat as a party-list representative.

"Our contention is that the vote of [the] HRET without Ilagan is 3-3," Roque said.

Ilagan denied that she should be considered resigned as a party-list representative. The rule that Roque cited, she said, is only applicable to party-list representatives shifting political affiliation or sectoral representation.

"I'm not running for party-list representative; I'm running for a councilor. So it doesn't apply to me because I'm not changing my party list [organization] nor I am transferring to another sector. I'm just going to run for a different position," Ilagan said.

"Gabriela has not replaced me. I'm still representing Gabriela and finishing my term," she added.
Electoral protest.

Reyes, daughter of Marinduque Governor Carmencita Reyes, defeated Velasco in his bid for re-election in 2013 by around 4,000 votes.

However, a day after election day, on May 14, 2013, the Comelec en banc ruled to disqualify her for being a naturalized American citizen based on a blog post by a certain Eli Obligacion.

Reyes contested Comelec's decision, accusing it of grave abuse of discretion when it used Obligacion's article as evidence. She said she had always been a natural-born Filipino and only acquired American citizenship by virtue of marriage.

Reyes also questioned the Comelec's jurisdiction over her case since she had been "a duly-elected member of the House of Representatives," thus making the HRET the "sole judge" of all her electoral issues.

She elevated the case to the High Court, but on June 25, 2013, the court upheld the Comelec's decision, voting 7-4 against Reyes.

The winning opinion also ruled that the HRET's jurisdiction over electoral protests applies only after a winning candidate had assumed office on June 30. (READ: Poll protests: Is the Supreme Court clipping HRET's powers?)

Less than a month after the SC released its decision, Reyes asked the SC to reconsider her case, especially since she believed that SC Associate Justice Velasco, father of Lord Allan, influenced the court's decision that favored his son.

Justice Velasco and justices Jose Catral Mendoza and Estela Bernabe inhibited themselves from the case, however.

HRET contended that a congressional candidate becomes a member of the House after the canvassing board declares him or her a winner.

In October 2013, the High Court dismissed Reyes' 2nd petition, voting by 7-4-3.

Despite the SC ruling, the HRET and Belmonte refused to install Velasco as a member of the House.

Source and courtesy: Patty Pasion, Rappler.com

Lola ni Dora's advise para sa Halalan 2016

Ito si Juan.

Kilala bilang isang masugid na tagasubaybay ng mga isyung pulitikal sa kaniyang Inang lalawigan ng Marinduque, hindi niya pinalalampas ang anumang bagay na patungkol sa mga naglalakihang angkan ng dugong buwaya este maharlika sa kaniyang bayan; ang mga Yeser, Zoracel, Marsiento at marami pang iba.

Sa kaniyang murang edad, namulat siya sa mapang-aliping angkan na nakaluklok sa pedestal ng kapitolyo at ilang dekada nang nanunungkulan - ang mga lahing Yeser. Ayon sa kasaysayan, bago pa man marating ng mga Yeser ang tugatog ng tagumpay, mahigpit nilang kinalaban ang angkan ng mga Zoracel na kilalang matalik na katunggali ng nauna. Kilala din ang mga Zoracel bilang lipi ng mga mandirigma, armado at mahusay sa ‘pangangayaw’ (pangangayaw ng mga balota tuwing eleksyon).

Samantalang ang ikatlong angkan sa pamumuno ni Don Marsiento ay ilang henerasyon nang nanunungkulan sa isa sa anim na bayan na nasasakupan ng mga Yeser. Bagama’t walang intensyon ang mga Marciento na maupo sa trono ng kapitolyo, sila ay kilala naman sa pagkakaroon ng “mahabang buhay” kung kaya’t ang isang bayan ay sapat na para sa kanila upang maghari sa loob ng isang siglo.



St. Isidore Labrador Church, Mogpog

St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church, Gasan

Indeed, the sun shines everywhere

The View Deck, Mogpog

Summer is around the corner

As of this writing his album post in Facebook is getting hundred of shares and likes.

Thank you Seller for showing the world what Marinduque is all about!

Posted by Romeo Mataac, Jr.

How to Contribute Articles, Photos, and Videos

Marinduque Movers take part in asking the court to stop P300-M DBP loan to Marinduque

A group of taxpayers has asked the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) to nullify a P300-million loan deal entered into by the provincial government of Marinduque with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), saying the beneficiary projects have already been funded by national government agencies.

In an 11-page petition filed on Dec. 28 last year in the Makati RTC Branch 145, the group sought the issuance of an injunction order to prevent the release of the fund.

Regina Ongsiako-Reyes shows her passport and other documents

The camp of Marinduque Rep. Regina Ongsiako-Reyes will ask the leadership of the House of Representatives to appeal the Supreme Court decision removing the congresswoman from her post for allegedly failing to meet residency and citizenship requirements.

This was revealed by Reyes’ husband, former Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, stressing that they are still awaiting the copy of the ruling where the high court asked the House to officially declare former Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco as the winning representative in the lone district of the province. Velasco is the son of SC Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr.

“We will wait for the official notice and we will consult lawyers for legal action [appeal] when decision is received,” Mandanas said in a text message.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the House being the respondent to the case would only act on the order only after it becomes final and executory.

“Once the decision is final, that is the time that I will comply on the ruling,” Belmonte, a lawyer, said.

But Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, a lawyer and stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party where Reyes is a member, expressed belief that the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal has the sole power to decide on the issue.

Umali said the HRET is the “sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective members.”

“That is [HRET has the sole prerogative and power to remove a member] the letter of the Constitution which is the supreme law of the land. We will try to find out the collective decision of the House as an institution,” Umali, chair of the House committee on energy, said.

“I am just wondering how it was done without remanding the case to the court of origin, which as a general rule has the mandate to execute a final and executory judgment,” Umali added.

In its ruling, the high court asked House Secretary General, Marilyn Barua-Yap, being the public respondent, to “register the name of petitioner Velasco in the roll of members of the House of Representatives after he has taken his oath of office.”

SC spokesman Theodore Te  earlier confirmed the court en banc granted the petition for mandamus filed by the young Velasco ordering Belmonte to administer the oath of former lawmaker as the duly-elected representative of Marinduque.

The SC said the young Velasco was entitled to the writ of mandamus under Rule 65, Sec. 3 because the finality of the court’s ruling in GR No. 207264 and the Comelec resolution in SPA No. 13-053 and SPC No. 13-010 “left no issue as to who is the rightful representative of the lone district of Marinduque.”

Under GR No. 207264, the high tribunal magistrates voted 7-4-3 to dismiss a petition for certiorari filed by Reyes, contesting her disqualification by the Commission on Elections.

The high tribunal stressed that the Comelec, through its SPA No. 13-053 and SPC No. 13-010, did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Reyes for being an American citizen.

The Comelec’s disqualification of Reyes, who was able join the May 13, 2013 mid-term polls, only become final the following day or May 14, prompting her to file a second motion for reconsideration.

The Comelec en banc ordered the Provincial Board of Canvassers of Marinduque to proclaim the young Velasco as the winning representative in the province’s lone district in disqualifying Reyes.

Voting 5-2, the Comelec en banc declared Reyes to be lacking the one-year residency required for an elected official.

In March 2015, the First Division of the Comelec canceled her Certificate of Candidacy on the grounds that she is an American citizen which Reyes denied.

Source and courtesy: Maricel Cruz, The Standard

Lord Allan Jay Velasco

The Supreme Court has ordered the House of Representative to officially declare Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr's son as the winning congressman of Marinduque's lone district.

At a media briefing on Tuesday, SC spokesman Theodore Te said the court en banc granted the petition for mandamus filed by Velasco's son Lord Allan Jay Velasco.

In its decision, the SC ordered House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to administer the oath of Lord Allan as the duly-elected representative of Marinduque.

"Public respondent Hon. Marilyn Barua-Yap, secretary general, House of Representatives, shall likewise register the name of petitioner Velasco in the roll of members of the House of Representatives after he has taken his oath of office," said the SC.

The court ruled that Lord Allan was entitled to the writ of mandamus under Rule 65, Sec. 3 because the finality of the court's ruling in GR No. 207264 and the Comelec resolution in SPA No. 13-053 and SPC No. 13-010 "left no issue as to who is the rightful representative of the lone district of Marinduque."

In GR No. 207264, the SC magistrates voted 7-4-3 to dismiss a petition for certiorari filed by Regina Ongsiako-Reyes, contesting her disqualification by the Commission on Elections.

The high court ruled that the Comelec, through its SPA No. 13-053 and SPC No. 13-010, did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Reyes for being an American citizen.

Reyes was still able to participate in the May 13, 2013 mid-term elections because at the time, her disqualification was not yet final.

The following day, on May 14, the poll body – in a four-page resolution – junked Reyes' motion for reconsideration, rendering her disqualification final.

Reyes' camp ended up filing a motion for reconsideration twice.

In disqualifying Reyes, the Comelec en banc ordered the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) of Marinduque to proclaim Lord Allan Jay Velasco, son of SC Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, as the winning representative in the province’s lone district.

The older Velasco has since inhibited himself from the case pending with the SC.

“The May 18 proclamation of the respondent, Regina Ongsiako Reyes, is declared null and void and without any legal force and effect,” the Comelec said.

Voting 5-2, the Comelec en banc said Reyes lacked the one-year residency required for an elected official. In March, the Comelec First Division canceled her certificate of candidacy on the grounds that she is an American citizen.

Reyes had repeatedly denied that she's an American citizen. She also accused her rival's father, Justice Velasco, of wielding his influence following a high court ruling favoring Reyes' earlier disqualification by the Comelec. Reyes ended up still being proclaimed as the winning candidate and took her oath after that.

As of this posting, Reyes is still listed in the House of Representative's website as its member representing the lone district of Marinduque.

Source and courtesy: Mark Merueñas, GMA News