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TWO residents of Barangay Labogon have filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to disqualify dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes for allegedly misrepresenting his eligibility in his certificate of candidacy (COC).

The petitioners claim that Cortes falsely stated he is qualified to run for office despite an Ombudsman order dismissing him from service and imposing a penalty of perpetual disqualification.

In their petition, Ines Corbo Necessario and Julita Oporto Narte said Cortes committed “material misrepresentation” in declaring his eligibility on the COC.

They asked Comelec to cancel his COC, remove his name from the official list of candidates, and exclude him from the ballots for the May 2025 election.

“In claiming that he is eligible for the office that he seeks to be elected to, respondent Cortes committed material misrepresentation in his certificate of candidacy,” states the petition, which Comelec’s Office of the Clerk of the Commission received on October 28.

The petitioners cite Administrative Order No. 17, Series of 2003, which mandates that an Ombudsman decision in administrative cases is “executory as a matter of course,” meaning an appeal does not delay its implementation.

They argue that the dismissal is immediately enforceable under this rule.

On September 26, the Ombudsman issued the order dismissing Cortes, finding him guilty of grave misconduct.

Necessario and Narte stressed that no order has been issued to stay the execution of this decision or its accessory penalties.

“When respondent Cortes stated in his COC that he is eligible for the office that he seeks to be elected to, he committed material misrepresentation,” they further claim in the petition.

On October 6, Cortes filed his COC for reelection, and on October 9, he submitted a petition to the Supreme Court challenging Comelec Resolution 1104-A, which aims to cancel his candidacy.

The Supreme Court granted Cortes a temporary restraining order on October 21, preventing Comelec from disqualifying them.(MyTVCebu)

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