Taguig voter questions Cayetano couple's bid for separate House seats

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 6:23 p.m.) — A complaint has been filed before the Commission on Elections against the candidacies of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and wife Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano, who are both gunning for seats at the House of Representatives.

Alan Peter has filed a certificate of candidacy for representative of the first district of Taguig-Pateros. He was congressman of the lone district of Taguig-Pateros from 1998-2007. 

Lani will run in the second district in the 2019 midterm elections. She was the districts representative in Congress from 2007-2010.

'Married couple can only maintain one legal residence'

Taguig voter Leonides Buac Jr. filed the petition to deny due course or to cancel certificate of candidacy against the spouses, according to a report from ABS-CBN News.

In his COC, Alan Peter declared that he is a resident of Barangay Bagumbayan while Lani declared that she lives in Barangay Fort Bonifacio.

The petitioner pointed out that a married couple can only maintain one legal residence at any given time.

"The usual place of abode of the husband and wife, as jointly fixed by them, is their one legal residence for the purpose of running for public office," the petition read.

Section 6, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution states that among the minimum requirements for members of the House Representatives are that they should be "a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election.

The petitioner also noted that the eldest of the Cayetano siblings, Rep. Pia Cayetano (Taguig), is running for senator while their younger brother Lino Cayetano is running for mayor to replace sister-in-law Lani.

"This may not surprise anyone, but this election, the Cayetanos have crossed the lines of decency, now plumbing the depths of shamelessness," the petition read.

Cayetanos: We are simply continuing public service

In a statement, the Cayetano couple said they "have been serving for many years now the residents of Taguig and Pateros" and that their running in both legislative districts in the city "would simply continue our public service."

They said: "We are running because our constituents trust us that their interests would continue to be promoted and protected. The disqualification cases, from the correct perspective, are irrelevant to our constituents’ desire."

"That said, we would like to assure the electorate of Taguig and Pateros of our absolute preparedness to answer point by point the issues raised in these disqualification cases," they also said.

Alan Peter, who relinquished his post as secretary of Foreign Affairs to run for Congress, earlier insisted that their family is not a political dynasty.

"You have to understand the dynamics. Our opponents in the first district mayor and congressman are siblings. Our opponents in the second district are father and son," Alan Peter said in an interview with ANC's "Headstart" last month. — Patricia Lourdes Viray