Raymond Garcia backs Garganera amid disqualification row

‘There was clearly an interruption,’ Garcia said

Cebu City Opposition Councilor Joel Garganera (left) and Councilor Raymond Garcia during the Kapihan press conference at the Cebu City Hall on February 1, 2019. | Photo by Delta Dyrecka Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Incumbent Mayor and Kusug standard-bearer Raymond Alvin Garcia defended Councilor Joel Garganera against a disqualification case filed with the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

He asserted that there was a clear interruption in Garganera’s term in 2019 that exempts him from the constitutional three-term limit.

In a recent press conference, Garcia emphasized that Garganera did not serve a full term during his second stint in office due to a delayed proclamation and oath-taking, following the disqualification of two other winning candidates in the 2019 midterm polls.

“It can be argued both ways, but I would like to believe there was really an interruption of Councilor Garganera’s term,” he said.

“How do you define an interruption? It’s when you do not serve the full term from June 30 to June 30 the following year. Garganera only took his oath on July 17, 2019. So clearly, there was an interruption,” Garcia added.

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Garcia’s statement comes just days after a disqualification petition was filed online on April 3 by Casmero Mahilum, a resident of Barangay Talamban, before the Comelec.

The petition seeks to bar Garganera from running in the May 12, 2025 elections, alleging that the councilor is gunning for an unconstitutional fourth consecutive term.

Mahilum argued that Garganera’s 2022 victory marked his third uninterrupted term, and that his reelection bid violates the constitution.

He further warned that allowing it would erode the spirit of term limits meant to prevent the overconcentration of political power.

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But Garcia countered that the Comelec and Supreme Court have previously ruled in favor of similar scenarios involving delayed proclamations and oath-takings.

“In a Supreme Court decision on an almost identical case, a candidate was proclaimed and took his oath one year after June 30 because of a delayed Comelec ruling. The Court ruled that it constituted an interruption. What’s the difference between one year and fifteen days? It’s still clearly an interruption,” Garcia said.

As Cebu City is classified as a highly urbanized city, Garcia noted that the petition will be decided not at the regional level but by the Comelec en banc in Manila.

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Legal tug-of-war over “interruption”

The issue stems from the aftermath of the 2019 elections, when Garganera placed 10th in the north district race but was later proclaimed councilor following the Comelec’s disqualification of Councilors Sisinio Andales and Alvin Arcilla for exceeding their term limits.

Garganera was officially proclaimed on July 16 and took his oath on July 17, nearly three weeks after the new term began on June 30.

Garganera has long maintained that this delay constitutes an interruption in service, resetting his term count and making him eligible to run in 2025.

However, in his petition, Mahilum disputed this, saying that since Andales’ certificate of candidacy was void from the start due to his ineligibility, there was no legitimate delay.

He argued that Garganera’s assumption was merely a correction of the election outcome, and not a true loss or forfeiture of office, which jurisprudence requires for a term to be considered interrupted.

“An interruption occurs only when someone already holds the position and is later removed or prevented from serving. One cannot lose a seat they never officially had,” Mahilum stated.

The councilor is now the secretary general of Kusug, a local party being strengthened under Garcia’s leadership. Garganera, along with several other Partido Barug councilors, formally joined Kusug in early 2024, consolidating the group’s dominance in the City Council.

The Comelec has yet to act on the petition, but any ruling on Garganera’s eligibility could carry significant political weight.

The councilor is considered a key figure in Garcia’s growing alliance, which is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the 2025 local elections.

While the legal battle unfolds, Garcia made it clear he stands firmly behind his party’s secretary general.

“I take the position of Councilor Garganera that there was really an interruption,” he said.

The case is expected to be deliberated by the Comelec en banc in the coming weeks. /clorenciana