Supporters of former Mayor Marcy Teodoro staged a protest outside the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Marikina on Tuesday, July 1, demanding his immediate proclamation as congressman of the city’s first district.
According to the report of RH Edniel Parrosa, Teodoro’s camp said that the Marikina Comelec office is refusing to proclaim him despite the issuance of a Certificate of Finality by the Comelec En Banc, which declared the reversal of Teodoro’s disqualification as final and executory effective July 1.
Despite this development, the local Comelec has yet to proclaim Teodoro. According to Atty. Dave Villarosa, Marikina’s election officer, the Board of Canvassers (BOC) must first be formally convened — a process that requires at least three days’ notice before the proclamation can proceed.
“Mayroon kasing—bago ka i-proclaim dapat i-convene muna ‘yung BOC, hindi lang naman ako ang magproclaim. Tatlong members ‘yan, ako ang chairman, we have the prosecutor and the superintendent ng DepEd,” said Villarosa.
“Ang pag-convene nitong BOC requires at least three days na notice. Ngayon na maglabas ang labas niyan Friday, walang kinalaman ang finality. But the concern now ‘yung requirement to convene the BOC,” he added.
Villarosa clarified that the finality of the decision is not the issue, but the legal process that must precede the proclamation.
Teodoro's camp, however, criticized Villarosa's explanation, arguing that the cited rule has no clear basis in election law.
In response to the delay, Teodoro is expected to file an urgent motion for immediate proclamation on Tuesday afternoon, July 1.
His team insists that all legal obstacles have already been cleared with the issuance of the Comelec En Banc's final ruling.
Meanwhile, Teodoro called for calm among his supporters as tensions outside the Comelec office continued to rise.
Teodoro's supporters carrying placards and expressed their frustration over what they described as a deliberate delay in implementing a national ruling that overturned Teodoro’s disqualification.
On June 26, the Comelec granted the consolidated motions for reconsideration of Teodoro, allowing his proclamation as the duly elected Marikina City’s 1st District Representative in the recent elections.
This stemmed after the commission ordered the cancellation of Teodoro’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC) due to alleged issues with residency.
Teodoro, on the other hand, expressed concern over the continued delay in his proclamation as Marikina's first district representative, suggesting that the city election officer might be deliberately stalling the process.
"Parang ayaw magconvene eh, para bang may hinihintay na iba pang pwedeng mangyari. Kaya nakakapagduda. Kaya nga kami, naisipan namin maari din dahil gusto mag-delay na nangyayari, baka meron ng abuse of discretion sa bahagi nung election officer," said Teodoro.
He is set to file a formal complaint against the city’s election officer over what he described as an “unnecessary delay” in his proclamation as the first district representative of Marikina, citing a potential 'abuse of discretion.'
Alongside this, they also submitted an urgent request for confirmation, emphasizing that if the board had already convened but still refused to proclaim, it would require a vote on the issue.
