ESCOLIN (DA-6)
ILOILO CITY – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has cancelled the candidacy of President Roxas town, Capiz province Mayor Receliste “Tanoy” Escolin two weeks after his “fourth” term started.
The Comelec First Division said Escolin violated the three-term rule when he filed his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) last October for the elections.
“He was fully aware that he had served three consecutive terms as mayor of President Roxas, Capiz, yet he nonetheless declared in his COC to run for the same position,” the Comelec First Division stated in a resolution dated July 14, 2025.
“This declaration constitutes a material misrepresentation, in clear violation of the three-term limit rule,” said Comelec First Division Presiding Commissioner Aimee Ferolino as well as Commissioners Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr. and Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal in a 22-page decision.
The Comelec First Division issued the resolution to cancel Escolin’s COC after Comelec-Capiz proclaimed him as the winner and the subsequent start of his “fourth” term last June 30.
In a Facebook live address, Escolin said he will file a motion for reconsideration.
Escolin has been claiming that he ran and won his “fourth” term because his nine-year term was interrupted when the Office of the Ombudsman suspended him for a period of three months from February to May 2024.
Under the Omnibus Election Code and the Local Government Code, local officials in a particular elective position are limited to three terms or nine consecutive years in office. They are not allowed to serve a fourth consecutive term.