Why Taguig Court Orders Lino Cayetano’s Removal from Voters’ List
LINO CAYETANO – Find out why the Taguig Court ordered Lino Cayetano’s removal from the voters’ list.
The Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ruled that former Mayor Lino Cayetano and his wife, Fille Cainglet, be removed from the list of registered voters in Barangay Ususan. The court ordered the city’s Elections Registration Board (ERB) to delist them after determining they failed to meet the residency requirements necessary for voter registration in the barangay, where Cayetano is running for a congressional seat.
In a 14-page ruling, Presiding Judge Mariam Bien of Taguig RTC Branch 153 stated that Cayetano and his wife had not met the six-month residency requirement before the May 12, 2025 elections. As a result, the ERB was instructed to remove their names from the voters’ list in Precinct No. 0926A of Barangay Ususan.
Cayetano to Appeal the Ruling
Cayetano responded to the court’s decision by announcing his plan to appeal. “We will exercise our right to appeal this decision, with full confidence that the truth will come out and justice will be served,” he said in a statement. He also clarified in a Facebook video that this ruling is separate from the disqualification case he is facing before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Final and Executory Decision
The RTC declared its ruling as “final and executory,” meaning no motion for reconsideration will be accepted. This decision reversed an earlier ruling by the Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court in February, which had initially favored Cayetano.
The ERB had previously denied Cayetano’s request to transfer his voter registration from Barangay Fort Bonifacio in October last year. The RTC upheld this denial, noting that he had filed his petition only 105 days before the election—far short of the six-month requirement set by election laws.
Residency Concerns
Election laws mandate that congressional candidates must have resided in their district for at least one year before an election. While Cayetano claimed to have been living in Barangay Ususan since 2022, the court found evidence contradicting this claim. His decision to lease a unit at Essensa Condominium and vote in Barangay Fort Bonifacio during the 2023 Sangguniang Kabataan elections raised questions about his true residency.
According to the report, court records indicate that Cayetano and his wife only returned to Barangay Ususan in December 2024, as shown by a new lease contract. This timeline falls short of the required six-month residency period.
This ruling presents a major obstacle to Cayetano’s congressional bid, though legal challenges surrounding his candidacy remain ongoing.
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