Disqualification Case Against Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Junked by COMELEC

Presidential candidate Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s disqualification case filed by a UP Diliman student was junked by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division. The case was dismissed by the poll body after the petitioner UP Diliman University Student Council (USC) chair John Paulo delas Nieves and his lawyer failed to appear in the preliminary conference.

Mayor Duterte

According to the UP Diliman student’s petition, who sought the cancelation of Mayor Duterte’s COC, the substitution of Mayor Duterte for Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) standard-bearer Martin Diño was invalid as Dino’s COC was defective.

The UP Student stated that due to Diño’s defective COC, Duterte had no bona fide candidate to substitute for.

“On account of the material defect in the COC of Diño, which is evident on its face, the certificate of candidacy is therefore null and void and no valid candidate exists for whom Rodrigo Duterte can substitute. Diño himself could never be considered to have ever filed a valid certificate of candidacy,” Delas Nieves said in his petition.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is considered as one of the most popular candidate for President particularly on social media as volunteers and friends of Duterte keeps on posting positive news about the mayor on various social media sites.

With the disqualification petition junked by the Comelec, Mayor Duterte is now left with just two more disqualification cases filed against the Davao City Mayor who runs for President of the Republic of the Philippines in the May 2016 national elections.

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