By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA

(Journal Group Link International)

C HICAGO, Illinois (JGLi) – A candidate, who misses the deadline for filing his candidacy, is disqualified from taking part in an election.

This was the salient point of the ruling of a three-person Commission on Elections (Comelec) of the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations (NaFFAA) when it declared Chicago, Illinois, community publisher-editor Bart SG. Tubalinal of The Fil-Am Week Megascene as the uncontested candidate for NaFFAA Illinois chair during the election held last Sept. 6 at the conclusion of the three-day 4th Regional Conference of NaFFAA for the Midwest Region (R3) at the Wyndham O’Hare Hotel in suburban Rosemont, Illinois.

In a resolution issued Sept. 29 by Comelec chair Marlon L. Pecson of Illinois, concurred in by Ms. Nieves McRoberts of Michigan and Ms. Vilma Helms of Ohio, it declared “null and void” the election of NaFFAA Illinois vice chair Jelly Carandang as NaFFAA Illinois chair for not filing her candidacy on Aug. 28, 2009, a deadline Ms. Carandang “cannot feigned (sic) ignorance . . . as (s)he even emailed on Aug. 17, 2009, the Comelec Chairman on the correct date of the deadline.”

After the Comelec declared Mr. Tubalinal the winner by default being “the lone nominee for the State of Illinois,” last Sept. 6, NaFFAA official Jerry B. Clarito talked to the Comelec Board and appealed to reconsider “our ruling and allow an open floor nominations for Illinois NaFFAA only.”

Before the Comelec Board could act on Mr. Clarito’s appeal as the Board was deliberating on it, Mr. Clarito went to the “plenary hall where most of the delegates were seated after their breakout caucuses.” There, Ed Navarra, NaFFAA Region 3 chair, allowed Mr. Clarito “to discuss with the body the suspension of the said Ruling and Election Rules with regards (sic) in particular to the nomination process.”

Mr. Navarra, in effect, “prevailed upon the Comelec to not directly conduct and supervise the NaFFAA Illinois. This was based from National Chair, Greg Macabenta’s observation.”

The resolution said, Mr. Navarra violated his “own memo” when he appointed the “R3 Comelec Committee’ as an “independent entity and (its) rules must be enforced based on your judgments, without interference from me.”

U nder Section 3 of the NaFFAA Constitution and By-laws, Mr. Navarra has authority to appoint “R3 Comelec Committee.” But his action suspending the rules adopted by the Comelec was “not in accord with the NAFFAA Constitution and Bylaws (and), they cannot ripen into a right, a privileged or a title. The above action is akin to an "ULTRA VIRES ACT” in a corporation, when an officer, director or the Chairman, was without authority or legal right to do the same,” according to the resolution.

At the actual Election for NaFFAA Illinois presided over by Jerry Clarito, Ms. Carandang was declared the winner. Ms. Carandang got 6 votes and Mr. Tubalinal, 5 votes. Two voters abstained.

After the NaFFAA Election, Ms. Yoly Tubalinal wrote an election protest on behalf of her husband, Bart Tubalinal, questioning the qualification of “two (2) unqualified voters in the company of Ms. Jelly Carandang, she alleges” as “just” observers.

Ms. Tubalinal said Mr. Clarito failed to vet on the qualification of the two voters if they were qualified to vote. It was later claimed that the two voters were said to have paid their membership dues when they paid their “sponsorship payment.” This claim, however, was deemed not “tenable” by the Comelec, when it did not receive certification of membership payment of two voters in a “timely” manner.

Mr. Tubalinal was nominated as candidate to the NaFFAA Illinois Chair by Ms. Ting Joven, treasurer of the National Press Club of the Philippines in the U.S.A., a member organization of NaFFAA Illinois in good standing, in his capacity as member and charter president of NPC Phil.-U.S.A.

NaFFAA watchers feel that if Ms. Carandang protests the Comelec ruling, it will likely call to mind the long-running campaign of Bobby M. Reyes against NaFFFAA leaders, who affirmed his election loss in the NaFFAA regional-chair election on October 1, 2000, held at the Bally’s Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Reyes felt, among others, that he was cheated in the election when "underpaid" young voters were allowed to vote in that election to "neutralize" Reyes for what NaFFAA leaders later accused him (Reyes) of bringing in his own 35 "hakot" (supporters) from Los Angeles, California.

Editor’s Note: To read details of the "Ballygate" of a election scandal, please click on this link, Why Many First-generation Filipino Immigrants Are Failing Badly as American Citizens

(To contact the author of this article, please e-mail him at lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net) # # #