Mayor Duterte Wins Round 1 of Disqualification Case Filed at COMELEC

The controversial but popular presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wins Round One (1) of the Disqualification Case filed against him at the Commission on Elections. Voting 6-1, the Comelec accepted yesterday the substitution of Mayor Duterte as the standard-bearer of the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) in the May 2016 national elections.

During a press briefing Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista was quoted as saying “After deliberation (Wednesday) afternoon, the commission, voting 6 to 1, resolved to acknowledge and accept the certificate of candidacy (COC) for president of Rodrigo Duterte, being a ministerial function of the commission,” the Comelec chairman stated.

Although a decision have been meet, the Comelec clarified that the decision “is entirely without prejudice” to the disqualification case filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor against Duterte and former Violence Against Crime and Corruption chair Martin Diño whom the mayor substituted.

According to the Comelec’s announcement, those who voted to accept the substitution are Bautista and Commissioners Christian Robert Lim, Al Parreño, Arthur Lim, Luie Tito Guia and Sheriff Abas while Commissioner Rowena Guanzon dissented, saying the Comelec should wait for the disqualification case to be resolved first.

Mayor Duterte still has a pending case, Castor versus Duterte (15-194 DC), wherein the petitioner alleges that Duterte’s COC is void because it contains untruthful facts or misrepresentation. There is also the issue regarding his notarized documents. The truth or falsity of which must be determined before his COC is accepted,” maintained Guanzon, who belongs to the First Division.