MANILA, Philippines — The Fee on Elections (Comelec) first division has ordered the ballot physique’s regulation division to probe Taguig Metropolis congressional candidate Lino Cayetano for potential violation of election legal guidelines.
This got here after the primary division, in a decision dated final June 16, dismissed the petition cancelling the certificates of candidacy of Cayetano for being moot and tutorial primarily based on his defeat for the place of consultant of the first district of Taguig Metropolis within the 2025 midterm elections.
Cayetano misplaced to Ading Cruz with a margin of 34,117 votes.
“As Respondent holds no proper or title to the workplace in query, any ruling on the deserves would serve no sensible goal, and additional adjudication is pointless,” the 17-page decision learn.
The division additionally dominated that the felony side of the case should be referred to the regulation division “for the CONDUCT OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION for potential violation of election legal guidelines.”
READ: Comelec rejects residency switch bid of ex-Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano
The petitioner, Allen Normor, needed Cayetano’s COC be cancelled or denied due course as a result of misrepresentation on his residence. The Omnibus Election Code states that false declaration of data within the COC constitutes materials misrepresentation, which constitutes an election offense.
The petitioner alleged that Cayetano has no precise and authorized residence in Block 7, Lot 18, Accord Road, Barangay Usuan within the first district of Taguig Metropolis. The petitioner added that it’s a non-existing deal with, “as indicated by his lack of bodily presence therein and his contemporaneous acts.”
READ: Taguig courtroom directs elimination of Lino Cayetano, broad Fille from voters’ checklist
The petitioner additionally famous that Cayetano resides in Barangay Fort Bonifacio within the second dqistrict of Taguig Metropolis, noting that Cayetano voted in Sitio Tres in Barangay Fort Bonifacio for the October 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
In the meantime, Cayetano argued that the petitioner did not show that he dedicated materials misrepresentation in his COC concerning his residency, noting that his deal with within the First District exists.
Cayetano added that the sworn statements utilized by the petitioner to show non-residency “should not “conclusive proof of residency and can’t override constructive proof on the contrary.”
The Comelec Election Registration Board (ERB) earlier rejected the try of Cayetano, and his spouse, Fille Saint Merced Cayetano, to switch their residency from the Second District of Taguig to the First District of Taguig-Pateros “for not having fully-satisfied the requirement of residency [as] mandated by regulation.”
The Cayetanos filed their Software for Switch of Voter Registration Document from the second district to the primary d3district of Taguig Metropolis on September 28, 2024.
The Taguig Metropolis Regional Trial Court docket (RTC) Department 153 beforehand ordered the elimination of each Cayetanos from the official checklist of voters in Barangay Usuan for failing to satisfy the residency requirement mandatory for voter registration.
The couple then challenged the ERB resolution, submitting a petition with the Metropolitan Trial Court docket Department 74, which dominated of their favor and ordered the inclusion of their names within the voter checklist in Barangay Usuan.
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Nevertheless, the Taguig RTC Department 153 reversed the ruling, noting that the petition was not filed inside the required timeframe. /cb
