Cebu mayor challenges Comelec Disqualification ruling
CEBU CITY—Dismissed Mayor Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City in Cebu on Thursday sought the intervention of the Supreme Court to contest the recent cancellation of his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) due to allegations of “material misrepresentation.”
In a statement, Cortes’ camp said it filed a petition for certiorari with a prayer for the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to halt the implementation of the Comelec ruling that disqualified him from seeking reelection in the May 12 elections.
“The political landscape of Mandaue City has been shaken by a series of events targeting Mayor Jonas Cortes, raising concerns about the use of legal maneuvers as tools for political harassment,” it said.
“In seeking the TRO, Mayor Cortes appeals to the judiciary for fairness and impartiality, expressing hope that justice will prevail amid these politically charged times,” it added.
In his petition, Cortes asked the high court to reverse Comelec decision to cancel his candidacy and issue a status quo ante order to restore his eligibility as a candidate.
In a ruling dated Dec. 18, the Comelec Second Division said Cortes marked “not applicable (N/A)” in response to questions on his COC about pending cases, docket numbers and the status of any legal actions against him, despite receiving a dismissal order from the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 3, just a day before filing his COC.
Cortes filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that the Ombudsman’s decision, which found him guilty of grave misconduct for allowing a cement batching plant to operate in Mandaue City without the necessary business and environmental permits, was still under appeal and not yet final.
However, the Comelec en banc denied his motion, affirming the previous decision and reiterating that the Ombudsman’s ruling, which imposed a penalty of perpetual disqualification from office, was sufficient grounds to cancel his COC.
This prompted Cortes to file go to the Supreme Court.
‘Honest belief’
Cortes argued that he filed his COC for Mandaue mayor on Oct. 4 under the “honest belief” that the Ombudsman’s decision, being nonfinal, did not disqualify him.
He explained that he marked “N/A” in the section of the COC requiring disclosure of cases that removed him from office with finality, “consistent with his understanding of the law.”
Cortes further argued that Comelec lacked jurisdiction to disqualify candidates based on ineligibility claims before an election, as such matters should only be addressed for proclaimed winners through proper quo warranto or election protest proceedings.
He also maintained that the Comelec had erroneously treated the petition under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code as an ineligibility proceeding.
In his statement, Cortes said the poll body’s decision was part of a broader strategy to suppress his candidacy and weaken his influence in the city. He has been serving a one-year suspension without pay since August 2024 following another decision of the Ombudsman that found him liable for the “irregular designation” of an officer in charge of the City Social Welfare Services in 2022.
Cortes, in a statement on Dec. 23, vowed to “fight until the end.”
