Why Negros Oriental’s governor’s 4th bid is being barred by a petitioner

Incumbent governor of the province of Negros Oriental, Roel Degamo, filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) for reelection, seeking to once again win the top position in the province. However, his gubernatorial bid has been met with a petition asking for his disqualification. The petitioner had asked Comelec to cancel Degamo’s CoC for material misrepresentation, as he stated that he is eligible for reelection when according to the petitioner’s argument, he is not qualified for reelection.

The petitioner’s argument is that Degamo has already exhausted his three full terms, without any interruptions, as governor of Negros Oriental. Note that according to the 1987 Constitution, the term limit for the gubernatorial position is for three terms only.

Degamo’s background as governor

In 2011, Degamo who was then vice-governor at the time ascended to the gubernatorial position following the death of the governor of Negros Oriental. Note that the major role of all vice-positions in the country is to serve as a ‘spare tire’ to replace those in primary positions in cases of death, incapacitation, or impeachment.

Degamo later ran for his own term in 2013, successfully winning the elections. He once again filed for reelection in 2016 and 2019. While it may look like he had served his three full terms, according to Degamo, he wasn’t able to fully serve the extent of his terms due to multiple times that his term was ‘interrupted.’

Degamo’s counterargument

These interruptions constitute the two times that he left his position shortly after petitions were filed before the Ombudsman against him in 2016 and 2017 for alleged misuse of public funds. For both the 2016 and 2017 petitions, he was able to secure a restraining order for the Court of Appeals, which allowed him to return to his public office.

Degamo, in a 2020 interview, actually shared that he is confident that the ruling will be in his favor. In specific, he cited the court case when former governor of Camarines Norte Edgardo Tallado was allowed for a 4th reelection bid by the Supreme Court in 2019, having been found that he had, in fact, not fully served his full three-term limit.