THE recall petition against a woman barangay kagawad of Herrero-Perez East in dagupan City moved closer to fruition with after the Commission on Elections ordered last February 16 the verification of signatures and thumbmarks of the petitioners.

The Comelec, meeting en banc, certified to the sufficiency of the Petition for Recall filed against barangay Kagawad Marilyn S. Valdez in its Resolution No. 06-0163. It set the dates for the signature and thumbmarks verification on March 24,25 and 26, 2006.

City Comelec Supervisor Remarque L. Ravanzo has subsequently issued last March 3 a public notice for the political exercise to all parties concerned to include a publication of the notice in the Pangasinan Star and in one national newspaper as provided for in the guidelines.

Designated verification centers on the cited dates will be the Herrero-Perez east barangay hall and the Liga ng Mga Barangay building, also located on Herrero-Perez, this city. The centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Ravanzo said.

The petitioner and the official sought to be recalled may send their representatives to witness the verification proceedings as observers with the right to file objections, Ravanzo stressed.

Valdez has been at odds with Barangay Captain Salvacion Bravo over certain issues on barangay administration. Both have been summoned and appeared before the sangguniang panlungsod earlier to explain themselves in connection with each other’s charges and countercharges. (BFH)