Princess Vanessa A. Rodriguez has assumed the post of municipal mayor of Bato following the issuance of a writ of execution by the Regional Trial Court last Sept. 2, 2026.
The ascension of the daughter of Congressman Eulogio R. Rodriguez to the municipality’s top elective position makes the father-child tandem the third pair to hold a mayoral post in recent years after Remegio and Vincent Villaluna of Bagamanoc and the parents-son chief executives in San Andres – Antonio and Lydia Romano and their son Aly.
Former Mayor Juan T. Rodulfo, who was originally declared winner of the May 2025 contest by eight votes, was not present during his rival’s taking over the reins of the town.
The Tribune article on this week’s issue incorrectly reported that Rodriguez had already taken over the reins of the town that morning on the strength of an unverified report that the Regional Trial Court issued a writ of execution on its Aug. 12 order granting her Motion for Execution Pending Appeal.
It may be recalled that RTC Branch 43 Presiding Judge Irwin L. Pena directed the Branch Clerk of Court to issue a writ of execution on its Aug. 7 decision on the election protest that found Rodriguez the winner of the mayoral contest by a margin of just one vote.
However, the counsel of Mayor Rodulfo filed a Notice of Appeal with the RTC and COMELEC that same afternoon.
The move meant that under existing rules, the aggrieved party had 20 days from the RTC’s Aug. 12 order within which to secure a restraining order or status quo order from COMELEC, effectively staying the writ of execution pending appeal.
The 20-day period expired on September 1, Manila-based lawyer Atty. Dexter A. Francisco told the Tribune, which would have allowed the Court to issue the needed writ the following day.
In connection with Mayor Juan T. Rodulfo’s bid to retain his seat, the Commission on Elections has set the hearing of the Petition for Certiorari with Prayer for Tempory Restraining Order (TRO) and/or Status Quo Ante Order that was filed through his counsel on Aug. 24.
Last Aug. 28, the COMELEC’s Second Division headed by Commissioner Rey E. Bulay issued an order requiring Rodriguez to file her answer or comment on the Rodulfo petition within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt of the order.
The petition will be heard in the afternoon of Oct. 7, 2026 at the COMELEC Session Hall at its office at Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.
stated.
The petition asks the Commission to issue a TRO to prevent his opponent from assuming the post of municipal mayor, or if Rodriguez is allowed to do so, to direct Rodulfo’s reassumption of his post upon issuance of the Status Quo Ante Order.
The petition filed against Judge Pena and Rodriguez described the poll case as one “where an admittedly clean election is about to be overturned by questioned ballots found outside the ballot boxes, through a Decision rendered by a judge who openly admitted that he belongs to the same political party as the Protestant, and upon the narrowest possible margin of ONE VOTE.”
Based on the RTC decision, the slimmest victory margin came after then Acting RTC Branch 43 Judge Ritche Regala granted the motion of Rodriguez seeking the turnover and inclusion of three ballots rejected by the vote counting machine in Clustered Precinct No. 10.