The Commonwealth Election Commission, for its part, said it will ask for an advisory from the Supreme Court regarding its Jan. 29, 2010 ruling.
The ruling stated: “We vacate the trial court order declaring Rebuenog the election winner and order the Commonwealth Election Commission to conduct a new mayoral election as soon as possible. In this [new] election only the qualified voters — as determined by the trial court — are permitted to vote.”
The new election will cost about $20,000, according to the commission.
In its emergency meeting yesterday, commissioners approved a motion, asking the Attorney General’s Office to make representation with the Supreme Court on the matter.
Commission Chairwoman Frances M. Sablan and Executive Director Robert A. Guerrero said their office is not the appropriate agency to determine who is now the Northern Islands mayor based on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Moreover, to conduct a “new mayoral election,” Sablan said, “we would like to approach [the Supreme Court’s ruling] carefully.”
“We don’t want to go back to square one again. We will do it carefully and right this time. Our mode is more of prevention and we need clarification and guidance from the court,” she added.
Rebuenog declined to comment and her lawyer, Richard W. Pierce, had yet to reply to the inquiries of this reporter.
Attorney Robert T. Torres, counsel for independent candidate Tobias Dela Cruz Aldan, said in an e-mail:
“The Supreme Court decision is compelling in its concern that only qualified and legal voters’ ballots may be counted and illegal votes cannot be ignored. Mr. Aldan…understands and respects the province of the court to say what the election law is and how it must be applied. That is part of the Rule of Law.”
Torres said “as of now, there is no mayor for the Northern Islands; there are only two qualified candidates. The democratic process of an election will now proceed anew for the voters to once again express their will for their mayor from the Northern Islands representing them in the Northern Islands. We look forward to and will be part of the scrutiny of that process.”
Aldan edged Rebuenog by one vote in the Nov. 7 elections. But Rebuenog was declared the winner by a trial court after she successfully challenged the eligibility of 18 voters.
Aldan filed an appeal and the Supreme Court ordered for a new mayoral election since the trial court “was unable to determine which candidate received the most legal votes.”
In an e-mail, Supreme Court clerk of court Daniel Stafford said, “Concerning your question of which candidate should undertake the mayoral duties in the Northern Islands until the results of the new election are certified, this issue was not before the court on appeal. As a result of Friday’s opinion, the [commission] and future litigants will have a clear path to follow when determining the effects of illegal votes in the overall election count. Until the issue is presented to the court, it is the onus of the CEC to determine the proper interim mayor under commonwealth election law.”
The $20,000 cost of a new election includes the fee for renting a helicopter that will transport four ballots from Agrihan, Guerrero said.
There were 149 voters from the Northern Islands in the Nov. 7 elections.
When asked if voters who have become eligible following the Nov. 7 elections can cast their ballots in the new poll, Sablan and Guerrero said this was among the talking points the commission would like to clarify with the Supreme Court.
After the commission’s meeting yesterday, this reporter went to the Northern Islands mayor’s office in Garapan, but learned that it was already closed and had relocated to the former district office of the now defunct Washington representative’s office over two weeks ago.
Located at the end of the Ascencion Drive’s loop on Capital Hill, the office is now being cleaned and repainted by the staff of the Northern Islands mayor’s office.
Asked who the current mayor is, one of staffers replied, “Rebuenog.”
