Petitions filed before Comelec-Manila: Jonas, Mike face disqualification

CEBU, Philippines — Dismissed mayors Michael Rama of Cebu City and Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City are facing separate petitions for disqualification before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

In particular, the petition against Rama argued that he is no longer eligible to run because he has been dismissed from service and disqualified from holding any public office, so his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) should be canceled and his name be “delisted” during the printing of ballots.

The petition against Cortes, on the other hand, argued that he lied when he filed his COC last Oct. 4.

Labogon, Mandaue City residents Ines Corbo Necesario and Julita Oporto Narte, in their Oct. 28 petition filed before Comelec Manila, alleged that Cortes committed “material misrepresentation” when he placed in his COC that he is eligible for the office that he seeks to be elected to, despite the presence of an Ombudsman order dismissing him from service that imposed the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from service.

Because of this, Necessario and Narte asked the Comelec to “deny due course” to the COC of Cortes, delete his name from the certified list of candidates, and exclude him from the official ballots to be used in the May 2025 elections.

“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,” read part of their petition.

The petitioners cited Administrative Order no. 17 Series of 2003, which amended Rule III of the Rules of Procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman, which states that “An appeal shall not stop a decision from being executory….” It also stated that “(a) decision of the Office of the Ombudsman in administrative cases shall be executed as a matter of course.”

“Thus, notwithstanding an appeal, the decision… is immediately executory. Further, it has long been settled that a dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman is executory,” read the petition.

Last Sept.26, the Office of the Ombudsman issued the order dismissing Cortes, finding him guilty of grave misconduct.

“To date, the said decision has yet to be reversed or set aside. More importantly, to date, no restraining order has been issued to hold in abeyance the implementation thereof and application of the accessory penalties,” Necessario and Narte said, in their petition.

“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 added.

The Freeman tried to get a reaction from Cortes on this latest petition, but he was not available as of press time.

To recall, Necesario and Narte are the same complainants against Cortes for his alleged act of allowing the continuous operation of SUPREA Phils. Development Corp. (SUPREA), a batching plant of concrete mix cement located in Sitio San Jose 1, Circumferential Road, Barangay Labogon, Mandaue City, in 2020 to 2022, despite the lack of the required business permit, sanitary permit, and environment clearance.

Based on this complaint, Cortes was found guilty of grave misconduct with a penalty of dismissal from service, together with its accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification for employment in the government service.

Aside from this administrative penalty, the Ombudsman also ordered the filing of a criminal complaint against Cortes over the same case.

PETITION AGAINST RAMA

As to the petition against Rama, one Junel Bontuyan filed it before the Comelec in Manila yesterday.

It cited the nepotism case against Rama filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, which found him guilty last Oct. 2 and ordered him dismissed from service and, like Cortes, perpetually disqualified from holding any public office.

Rama was found guilty of nepotism and grave misconduct over the hiring of his two brothers-in-law in City Hall.

Aside from the cancellation of his eligibility, the Ombudsman also ordered the forfeiture of Rama’s retirement benefits, except for accrued leave credits, and perpetual disqualification for reemployment in government service.

An excerpt of Bontuyan’s petition stated that nepotism “undermines the laws by putting family ties above merit, robbing deserving individuals of the opportunities to better serve the public”.

Bontuyan also argued that Rama’s attempt to remain as a candidate for the 2025 midterm elections, despite his dismissal and perpetual disqualification, “poses a grave threat to the integrity of public service”.

“To allow him to continue his candidacy, despite the Ombudsman's finding of guilt, would go against the very purpose of the afore-cited authorities,” he said in his petition.

He said that since the decision of the Ombudsman is “immediately executory”, it is enough ground to bar him from seeking public office.

“Upholding the rule of law and the principles of public accountability demands that respondent Rama be barred from running in the 2025 elections for city mayor of Cebu City,” Bontuyan said.

Rama filed for his Cebu City mayoral bid COC last Oct. 3, 2024, a day after the Ombudsman order his dismissal from service.

Last Oct. 22, the Supreme Court (SC) granted the prayer requested in separate petitions filed by Rama and Cortes and issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Comelec Resolution 1044-A, which disqualifies them in running in the 2025 elections.

“The TRO halts the implementation of the Comelec's disqualification order while the Court reviews the cases,” the SC said, as posted in its Facebook page.

Comelec Resolution 1044-A, issued on Sept. 4, cancels the COC of a candidate that the Office of the Ombudsman orders to be perpetually barred from holding any public office. It also prohibits such a candidate from running as a candidate in the 2025 elections.

Rama and Cortes challenged Comelec Resolution 1044-A before the SC, which granted the TRO and gave the Comelec 10 days to submit its comments. — /RHM (FREEMAN)