CEBU CITY – Aside from two residents, a lawyer has also filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to disqualify dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes from next year’s polls.
Lawyer Ervin Estandarte, a resident of Barangay Pagsabungan, Mandaue, asked the Comelec to cancel the Certificate of Candidacy of Cortes for material representation in violation of Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) and Section40 (B) of the Local Government Code.
CORTES (FB)
Estandarte filed the petition on Oct. 25. The Comelec received the petition on Oct. 28.
Two other Mandaue residents, Ines Corbo Necessario and Julita Oporto Narte, both from Barangay Labogon, had earlier filed a petition against Cortes’ candidacy also for material representation.
In his petition, Estandarte said that in the dorsal portion of Cortes’ COC, a question was posed to disclose any case to indicate the case docket, case, title, date filed, and status.
Estandarte said Cortes committed a violation when he answered the question with “Not Applicable (N/A).”
“Such entry N/A is a material representation of respondent’s COC for he knew fully well that he was dismissed from service by the Ombudsman and he received such order on Oct. 3, 2024,” said Estandarte in his petition. Cortes filed his COC on Oct. 4.
The lawyer cited Section 74 of the Omnibus Election Code stating that facts stated in the COC “are true to the best of his knowledge.”
“Such material representation is knowingly made because on 3 October 2024, a day prior to filing of the respondent’s COC, he received an amended order of the Ombudsman dismissing him from the service to sit as mayor of Mandaue City, Cebu. Thus, he should have indicated in his COC such fact of his dismissal from service. Clearly therefore, by indicating N/A is a material representation necessitating the denial of due course to or cancellation of his COC,” Estandarte said.
The lawyer added that “by indicating N/A is to mislead the Comelec into believing that he (Cortes) has all the qualifications to run for public office.”
The petitioner also cited a previous Supreme Court ruling stating “the denial of due course or the cancellation of the COC is not based on the lack of qualification that the candidate made a material representation that is false.”
Estandarte added that had Cortes disclosed his dismissal order, the Comelec “could have administratively and on its own deny due course and cancel the respondent’s COC.”
The Ombudsman dismissed Cortes for allowing a batching plant to operate in Mandaue without permits.
The dismissal order prompted the Comelec to issue a resolution canceling Cortes’ COC.
Cortes turned to the Supreme Court that subsequently issued a Temporary Restraining Order against the Comelec resolution.
He has yet to comment on the two petitions filed against his candidacy as of posting time.