Comelec-7: Cortes may not be able to assume post even if he wins in May polls

Local

CEBU CITY–Dimissed Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes was allowed to run in the upcoming midterm elections even if he was handed with a perpetual disqualification for reemployment in government service by the Office of the Ombudsman for grave misconduct.

While he was allowed to run and can even be proclaimed if he wins in his re-election bid, assuming his post as mayor may not be possible because of the Ombudsman order against Cortes, said Atty. Francisco Pobe, regional director of the Commission on Elections-Central Visayas (Comelec-7).

“In the Commission on Elections’ point of view, he can be proclaimed but can he assume as mayor? That’s another story. Because our issue here in the Comelec is his disqualification. He was disqualified only that, it was subjected to a TRO (temporary restraining order) that’s why his name was placed back in the ballot,” Pobe told reporters on Tuesday, March 11.

The Ombudsman dismissed Cortes from service for allowing a cement batching plant to operate without necessary permits.

Apart from being dismissed from service, Cortes is also subject to accessory penalties, which include the forfeiture of retirement benefits and disqualification from holding public office.

The Ombudsman decision perpetually disqualifying Cortes from holding public office may prevent him from assuming office as mayor even if he wins in the election, said Pobe.

“So the one that they should fight for is the Ombudsman decision,” said Pobe.

Pobe’s clarification was sought after the Court of Appeals denied the temporary restraining order (TRO) that Cortes filed against an Ombudsman order suspending him for one year.

The Ombudsman suspended Cortes on August 12, 2024 after finding him guilty of unlawfully designating Camilo Basaca Jr. as officer-in-charge of Mandaue City’s Social Welfare and Services Office in 2022.

City Administrator Jamaal James Calipayan said the denial of the TRO will not affect Cortes’ eligibility to run in the May 2025 elections.(CCM)