Bulacan Governor Joselito Mendoza may expect to receive within the week the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolution ordering him to vacate his post after the poll body declared his rival former Agrarian Reform Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan as the duly elected governor of the province.

Lawyer Edward Orden, chief of the Law Division of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Legal Service, said they received Wednesday afternoon the Comelec en banc resolution that favored Pagdanganan.

“Usually, after receiving the resolution from Comelec, it would take one or two days to serve before a local government official,” Orden explained.

On the other hand, the DILG official clarified that the person who should be serving the Comelec resolution to Mendoza would be the Provincial Election Supervisor (PES) of Bulacan.

“It will be up to the provincial election supervisor when to serve the resolution,” he admitted.

Orden pointed out that the DILG’s task would only be to assist the PES in serving the Comelec resolution.

“The DILG’s role is only to support and maintain peace and order in the province,” said Orden who stated that “it is not a DILG matter but an election matter.”

Meanwhile, Orden said the DILG has sent a representative to the PES to coordinate in serving the resolution.

Orden bared Tuesday afternoon that Pagdanganan, who was accompanied by his lawyer George Erwin Garcia, was given a copy of the Comelec resolution.

At that time, Pagdanganan asked that the DILG administers the oath taking so he could immediately assume the post as governor.

However, Orden explained to Pagdanganan that it was not possible since the DILG should first receive the resolution from the Comelec itself and then serve it to Mendoza.