Governor Henry Pryde Teves on Tuesday chose to give way to an order of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) while waiting for the Supreme Court’s (SC) decision on his petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO).
He said he made the decision to avoid disruption of the delivery of public service and prevent further untoward incidents in Negros Oriental.
He said he did not want to sacrifice the employees and the services that they are giving to the Negrenses, citing that should he continue to stay as the duly elected governor, it would only sow further tension and impasse that could paralyze government service in the province.
Ferdinand Topacio, Teves’ legal counsel, insisted that it is legal for his client to remain in his post until the denial of their TRO petition.
He said he was taken aback by Teves’ statement while they were still in the middle of a meeting, adding that what the governor did was admirable and that there was still an elected official who is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of his constituents.
Teves, for his part, believes that only the High Court could rule on the matter with finality.
“I’ll rather wait for the next 15 days for the final ruling on TRO petition. I can’t give additional stress to my people and my family, who have already been through so much (pain),” he said.
He gave the assurance that he would not allow any trouble to happen in their province. “If it’s ours, it’s ours,” he said.
The SC failed to act on Teves’ petition, seeking for the issuance of a restraining order against the ruling of the Commission on Elections nullifying his May 9 victory.
It gave both parties to file their own comment on the petition within 15 days.
