Comelec to Supreme Court: Uphold Mitra's disqualification

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) stood pat on its decision to disqualify Rep. Abraham Khalil “Baham” Mitra in the gubernatorial race in Palawan despite his victory in the May 10 polls.

The Comelec asked the Supreme Court (SC) to uphold its resolution canceling Mitra’s certificate of candidacy before the elections due to a false entry on his residency.

In a 14-page comment filed last June 2 through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), the Comelec said there was no grave abuse of discretion in its decision and asked the SC to dismiss for lack of merit Mitra’s petition seeking to nullify its resolution.

Solicitor General Alberto Agra argued that Mitra “failed to adduce any question of law warranting the intercession of this honorable Court through the extraordinary writ of certiorari.”

“The powers and functions of public respondent Comelec, conferred upon it by the 1987 Constitution and Omnibus Election Code, embrace the power to resolve controversies arising from enforcement of elections laws, and to be the sole judge of all pre-proclamation controversies, and of all contests relating to the elections, returns, and qualifications,” the OSG said.

The OSG said it is within Comelec’s competence “to determine whether a false representation as to material facts was made in the certificate of candidacy, that will include among others, the residence of the candidate.”

The OSG disputed Mitra’s argument that the issue of his eligibility for the gubernatorial post should be threshed out in a full-blown proceeding after the elections.

“Lest it be misunderstood, the denial of the due course to or the cancellation of the certificate of candidacy is not based on the lack of qualifications, but on the finding that the candidate made a material representation that is false, which may relate to the qualifications required of the public office he/she is running for,” Agra said.

He said a candidate guilty of misrepresentation may be prevented from running or serving – if elected – or be prosecuted for violation of election laws.

The Comelec disqualified Mitra after claiming to be a resident of a farmhouse in Aborlan, Palawan when he was known to live in Puerto Princesa City.

He, however, was allowed to join the race after securing a status quo order from the SC three days before the May 10 polls. He was proclaimed winner on May 14.

On May 5, Mitra filed a petition and sought a restraining order challenging the Feb. 10 resolution of the Comelec’s First Division that canceled his certificate of candidacy for lacking residency, and the poll body’s May 4 resolution denying his motion for reconsideration.

Antonio Gonzales and Orlando Balbon Jr. who sought Mitra’s disqualification, filed a comment before the SC alleging that Mitra violated election laws when he misrepresented his residency and should therefore be disqualified despite winning in the elections.

They asked the SC to order the Comelec to proclaim Mitra’s closest rival, businessman Jose “Pepito” Alvarez, as winner in the gubernatorial race.

Another group, the Partidong Pagbabago ng Palawan, also asked the SC to affirm Mitra’s disqualification and declare Alvarez as the duly elected governor of Palawan.

Mitra, a three-term congressman supported by the political machinery of three-term governor Joel Reyes, defeated Alvarez by a slim margin of about five percent. Reyes, who ran as congressman in Mitra’s district, lost to lawyer Dennis Socrates.