Former Governor Joseph C. Cua and Virac Vice Mayor Lemuel L. Surtida will recommend temporary replacements for the seven suspended Provincial Board Members in their capacity as provincial chairpersons of the latter’s political party.
According to reliable reports, the former governor remains the Lakas-CMD provincial chairman on record at the party’s National Secretariat while Virac Vice Mayor Lemuel Surtida is the current NPC provincial chairman.
Under the rules, Cua and Surtida would have to nominate the replacements and sign the documents, which along with the certificate of membership of the nominee from the highest official of the political party concerns, would have to be submitted to the DILG Secretary, through the provincial and regional offices, for designation.
The person seeking to be designated must meet possess all the qualifications for the position of Sanggunian member concerned under Section 40 of the Local Government Code; has none of the disqualifications; is not holding an elective or appointive position in government at the time of the designation; and has accomplished and submitted his or her updated Personal Data Sheet.
The Cua camp is reportedly leaving to both Cong. Teves and Vice Mayor Surtida the decision to nominate qualified replacements for the suspended PBMs, with the nomination papers to be signed by the former governor as the current party chairman in Catanduanes.
However, the situation could become complicated as Gov. Azanza has allegedly listed his own chosen nominees.
A veteran political observer told the Tribune that Cong. Teves and Azanza would likely collaborate on the selection of nominees who would be mutually acceptable to both parties.
The nominees could include some names from among those who ran and lost in the May 12, 2025 elections as the one-year prohibition on their appointments to government positions has already expired.
Depending on how soon the two political parties could submit the names of the nominees and required documents, Malacanang could designate the replacements in one or two weeks after receiving the nomination papers.
Designations of replacement PBMs
The temporary appointments are pursuant to DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2019-21 which provided operational guidelines and rules in implementing Administrative Order No. 15, Series of 2018, that authorized the DILG secretary to fill temporary vacancies in certain local elective offices.
In case of a temporary vacancy in the office of the provincial vice governor or city or municipal vice mayor, the highest ranking Sanggunian member shall be designated by the President, through the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (SILG) immediately upon report of the concerned DILG Regional Office of said vacancy.
In case of temporary vacancies in the Sanggunian, only the nominees of the political parties under which the suspended sanggunian members got elected shall be designated, the same circular states.
Of the seven Catanduanes regular PBMs suspended last week, five – Balidoy, Tanael, Vergara, Francisco and Zafe – belong to the Lakas-CMD political party allied with then Gov. Joseph Cua.
The other three – Templonuevo, Turado and Balmadrid – ran under the banner of the Nationalist People’s Coalition but Turado and Balmadrid joined the Azanza campaign before breaking up with him just months after assuming office.
It is claimed that most of the seven suspended PBMs are identified with TGP Partylist Rep. Jose “Bong” Teves Jr., whose team facilitated their Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) from Lakas-CMD and NPC.