CEBU CITY — A lawyer insisted that dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes violated the law when he failed to disclose that he has a pending dismissal case when he filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for reelection in May.
LAWYER Ervin Estandarte shows the portion of a Certificate of Candidacy where dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes filled up with N/A when asked if he has pending cases. (Calvin Cordova)
Ervin Estandarte, a resident of Barangay Pagsabungan, Mandaue, emphasized that even if the Ombudsman order dismissing Cortes from public service is under appeal, the embattled former city executive should have disclosed the matter instead of putting N/A (not applicable) in the dorsal portion of the COC.
Estandarte said Cortes committed material misrepresentation and violated Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code when he failed to disclose the dismissal case.
“All questions asked in the COC are material representation. So he represented in the COC, in this particular question, whether he has a case, what is the docket number, title, date filed, and status. He was asked these questions, he should have answered them. Now, he placed N/A, we know N/A is not applicable, meaning this particular question in the COC is 'not applicable to me because I have no case.' Now, that is a material representation which is false,” said Estandarte.
Estandarte said Cortes’ failure to disclose the dismissal case prompted him to file a petition asking the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify him from next year’s elections.
The Ombudsman ordered Cortes' dismissal after he was found guilty of grave misconduct for allowing a batching plant to operate in Mandaue without necessary permits.
Estandarte was responding to the recent pronouncement of Mandaue City Administrator Jamaal Calipayan who contended that Cortes did not lie when he answered N/A in the COC.
Calipayan said that there was no need for Cortes to disclose the dismissal case as it is still under appeal, making it not yet final and executory.
A report said Calipayan pointed out that “the COC explicitly requires candidates to disclose only final and executory cases.”
Estandarte said that disclosing pending cases is critical for candidates.
He said had the former mayor disclosed his dismissal case, the Comelec could have administratively cancelled Cortes’ COC.
Estandarte also did not agree with Calipayan’s argument that it was unnecessary to disclose the dismissal case against Cortes as it was not yet final and executory.
“We will not talk about the finality or non-finality of the case. Whether it's final or not, Cortes failed to disclose the case. He should have disclosed it because it was asked of him in the COC. That’s the main issue, it's not about final or nothing is final,” said Estandarte.
Estandarte said Cortes was already aware of the dismissal order as it came a day before he filed his COC.
“The only reasons that he can cite why he answered N/A is he was insane or he answered it at gunpoint. Or he can say that he answered it in good faith but we all know that ignorance of the law excuses no one,” Estandarte said.
To prove that Cortes committed grave offense, Estandarte cited a previous ruling by the Supreme Court (SC).
He said that in the Tagolino versus the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal case, the High Tribunal ruled that “information provided by a candidate in his COC cannot be taken lightly.”
“Should a candidate make false statements of a material representation in the COC, his COC may be cancelled or denied due course,” Estandarte said, quoting the prevailing jurisprudence.
Calipayan blamed politics as the motive behind the filing of petitions seeking to disqualify Cortes from next year’s election.
Estandarte insisted that politics has nothing to do with his decision to file a disqualification case against Cortes.
“This is not politically motivated because I’m a lawyer, no one can dictate me what to do. I am not a politician. I am a resident of Mandaue, I’m a voter. I am acting as a concerned citizen. And I saw that if he has this temirity to not be honest enough with the Comelec, what more to the ordinary Mandauehanon,” said Estandarte.
Aside from Estandarte, two other Mandaue residents have filed the same petition against Cortes. Another petition was also filed from Cortes’ failure to disclose the dismissal case against him.
Cortes is seeking reelection against Provincial Board Member Jonkie Ouano.
After the Ombudsman ordered Cortes’ dismissal from service, the Comelec issued a resolution disqualifying him from next year’s election.
Cortes, however, was able to secure a Temporary Restraining Order from the SC against the Comelec resolution.