Koko urges Comelec en banc to rule on petition to cancel Teodoro's COC

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III has urged the Commission on Elections en banc to urgently resolve the petition seeking to cancel Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro’s certificate of candidacy in the congressional race.

Pimentel filed an urgent motion to resolve before the poll body last March 26, reiterating that the Comelec First Division had already ruled in favor of the petitioners on December 11, 2024, ordering the cancellation of Teodoro’s COC. 

In the motion, Pimentel cited Section 7, Rule 18 of the 1993 Comelec Rules of Procedure, which requires motions for reconsideration in exceptional cases to be resolved within 15 days. 

Pimentel noted that more than three months after the First Division's ruling, the Comelec En Banc has yet to issue a final resolution.

He argued that Comelec has long exceeded this period, making immediate action imperative.

"Napakalinaw ng desisyon ng First Division na kanselado ang COC ni Mayor Teodoro. Pero mahigit tatlong buwan na, bakit hindi pa rin ito naisasara? Comelec, kailangan ng mabilis at malinaw na aksyon," Pimentel said in a statement.

In their prayer for relief, Pimentel and his co-petitioners requested that the December 2024 ruling which cancelled Teodoro’s COC be affirmed and that the latter’s Motion for Reconsideration be dismissed outright.

GMA News Online has sought the comment of Teodoro and Comelec Chairman George Garcia, but they have yet to respond as of posting time.

In canceling Teodoro’s COC, the Comelec First Division said Teodoro committed material misrepresentation in his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the 2025 national and local elections (NLE) as regards his residency in Barangay San Roque in the first district. 

The decision stemmed from separate petitions filed by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Katrina Mari Faye Marco, Angelu Estanislao, and Ma. Luisa de Guzman, seeking to cancel Teodoro’s candidacy for allegedly violating Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC). 

According to the petitioners, Teodoro falsely claimed he is a resident of Barangay San Roque in the 1st District of Marikina as he transferred back from Barangay Tumana in the 2nd District barely one month and 15 days after he filed for transfer on February 28, 2024. 

The mayor also failed to establish a “substantial and verifiable over acts to prove his intention to return and re-establish his residence” in Barangay San Roque. –NB, GMA Integrated News

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