Comelec cancels Albay gov’s COC, declares his votes as ‘stray’
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division has canceled the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Albay Gov. Noel Rosal, saying he falsely claimed he was eligible to run for office despite being penalized with perpetual disqualification.
According to a resolution promulgated on Oct. 21 but made public only on Tuesday, the Comelec Second Division decided to grant the petition of Adrian Loterte, who argued that Rosal committed material misrepresentation in his COC when he stated that he was eligible to run for office.
In granting the petition, the Comelec Second Division said the votes cast in favor of Rosal in the elections last May were now considered as “stray.”
Rosal, through his legal counsel Romulo Macalintal, said in a social media post on Tuesday that he would appeal the decision to the Comelec en banc, and was confident it will be reversed “because the Division ruling was grounded on alleged resolution of the Ombudsman that dismissed him from service in 2022.”
“However, only recently the said resolution of the Ombudsman was modified by the Court of Appeals (CA) in that the dismissal was downgraded to a mere suspension from service for one year,” Macalintal said.
He added: “That new decision of the CA was not yet existing when the Comelec Second Division issued its ruling that disqualified Rosal.
Since the said ground of “dismissal” no longer exists then there is no more ground for Rosal’s disqualification.”
The complaint
According to Macalintal, the CA ruling “rendered moot the issue of alleged misrepresentation allegedly committed by Rosal when he filed his COC for Governor of Albay in the May 2025 elections.”
Loterte, in his petition, claimed Rosal was not qualified to run as governor in the May elections because he had previously been found guilty of grave misconduct by the Office of the Ombudsman, leading to his dismissal from service with the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification for holding public office.
The June 2024 dismissal order stemmed from a complaint over Rosal’s reassignment of several department heads when he was Albay governor. In his petition to the Second Division, Loterte noted that the decision of the Ombudsman has yet to be reversed or set aside, and no restraining order has been issued to stop its implementation.
Rosal filed a response on Dec. 6, 2024, arguing that the Ombudsman’s decision was not yet final “on account of his appeal” and therefore did not commit any material misrepresentation in his COC.
Although decisions by the Ombudsman are immediately executory based on its rules of procedure, Rosal said only the dismissal portion can be implemented and not the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification.
This is because “there is no remedy provided by law should it be implemented and later reversed on appeal,” according to the Albay governor.
Moreover, Rosal said Loterte’s petition should be dismissed given the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court in Oct. 22, 2024, enjoining the Comelec from implementing Resolution No. 11044-A.
Resolution 11044-A disqualified Rosal, then Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and then Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama from running in the 2025 elections following their dismissals from the Ombudsman.
SC TRO cited
In its ruling, however, the Comelec Second Division said that Resolution 11044-A, “pertains to the referral for administrative cancellation of the COC to the Law Department, and not to the cancellation, which is a proper subject of a petition requiring the Commission’s exercise of quasijudicial function.”
The implementation of this referral, which is covered by the TRO, is “substantially distinct” from a petition for a denial of due course to and/or the cancellation of one’s COC, the Second Division explained.
It added that contrary to Rosal’s claim, decisions of the Ombudsman are immediately executory, “notwithstanding the timely filing of a motion for reconsideration or a petition for review.”
By subscribing and swearing to his COC, the Second Division said Rosal affirmed the truthfulness of all statements and declarations it contained, including the assertion that he is “eligible for the office I seek to be elected to.”
“Based on the foregoing, [Rosal] materially misrepresented in his COC,” the Second Division said.
