Philippines
Metro Manila
DQ case vs. Mayor Vico junked; rival may face disqualification over foreign passport use
DQ case vs. Mayor Vico junked; rival may face disqualification over foreign passport use
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto disclosed on Monday, April 14, that Pacifico "Curlee" Discaya II, husband of his political rival Sarah Discaya, filed a petition for disqualification against him on Jan. 28 but was immediately dismissed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The complaint stemmed from Curlee’s claim that the information regarding St. Timothy was “misinformation.”
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“Sabi niya ‘misinformation’ daw yung sa St. Timothy, kahit pareho naman kaming sinasabi ng Comelec Chairman na mismo (He claimed the issue about St. Timothy was misinformation, even though the Comelec Chairman himself was saying the same thing as I was),” he said.
He added that Curlee was also blaming him for various posts made by people on social media.
“Sinisi niya rin ako sa mga post ng iba't ibang tao sa social media—nagbabasa pala siya ng Reddit (He also blamed me for different posts made by people on social media—turns out he reads Reddit),” he said.
Sotto noted that he may, in fact, have grounds to question his opponent’s eligibility for mayor, claiming that Sarah Discaya allegedly used her British passport this year.
“Dahil ginamit niya pa diumano ang kanyang British passport ngayong 2025 lamang (Because she allegedly used her British passport this year),” Sotto stated.
The mayor explained that using a foreign passport after filing a certificate of candidacy is not allowed under Philippine election law as it can be seen as continuing an “act of allegiance” to another country.
Sotto added that as early as January, he had already heard about Discaya's flight details, but he chose not to file a petition.
“Bakit? Dahil ayokong may ma-disqualify sa kampo nila. Kailangan ipakita natin sa kanila na sa Pasig, naputol na natin ang siklo ng malaking gastusan pag eleksyon, traditional politics, at korapsyon (Why? Because I don’t want anyone from their camp to be disqualified. We need to show them that in Pasig, we have broken the cycle of excessive election spending, traditional politics, and corruption),” he said.
He explained that he shared the post because the public has the right to know the truth.