Marikina City Representative and mayoral aspirant Stella Quimbo, as well as her husband, former lawmaker and House bet Romero Quimbo, were asked by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to explain allegations of vote buying and abuse of state resources (ASR) for the upcoming May midterm elections.

The Quimbo couple is included in the latest batch of candidates that were given show cause orders by the agency on Friday, April 25.

The document was signed by Committee on Kontra Bigay (CKB) head Teopisto Elnas Jr.

In their statement, the Quimbos said they will comply with Comelec's directive.

"Para po sa kaalaman ng publiko, ang show cause order ay bahagi ng proseso ng Comelec Task Force upang hingan ng paliwanag ang isang kandidato kapag may natanggap silang reklamo—kahit pa ito ay mula sa isang anonymous na nagreklamo. Hindi po ito katumbas sa isang kaso sa Comelec (For the public's information, the show cause order is part of the Comelec Task Force's process to ask a candidate for an explanation when they receive a complaint—even if it is from an anonymous complainant. This is not the same as a case with the Comelec)," the Quimbos said.

"Hanggang ngayon, wala pa kaming natatanggap na opisyal na kopya ng reklamo. Pero nais namin linawin na handa kaming sagutin at harapin ito dahil malinis ang aming konsensiya (As of now, we have yet to receive an official copy of the complaint. But we want to clarify that we are ready to answer and face it because our conscience is clear)," they added.

The couple stressed that the vote of each and every Marikeño is sacred and they will not do anything to tarnish and destroy the people's trust in them.

Nineteen other candidates running for different government positions in the country are also included in the list, including incumbent Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna.

All respondents have been given three days from receipt of the order to explain why no election offense or disqualification case should be filed against them.