MANILA, Philippines – Nagkasala ang Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ng grave abuse of discretion ng ibasura nito ang petition for disqualification laban kay gubernatorial candidate at nanalong Cagayan Governor Manuel N. Mamba.
Ito ang idineklara ng Supreme Court En Banc matapos katigan ang petition for certiorari ng isang Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman-Lara na kumuwestyon sa naging desisyun ng COMELEC En Banc na ibasura ang kanyang petition to disqualify laban kay Mamba nitong May 2022 local elections.
Sa desisyun ng SC En Banc, ibinalik nito ang kaso
sa COMELEC En Banc para sa kaukulang disposisyon ng petisyun ni De Guzman-Lara laban kay Mamba.
Sina De Guzman-Lara at Mamba ay kapwa tumakbo bilang Governor ng Cagayan noong May 2022.
Nabatid na May 10,2022 ganap na 6:21 ng gabi naghain si De Guzman-Lara ng petition to disqualify laban kay Mamba dahil sa malawakang vote-buying at iligal na disbursement of public funds.
Ibinasura ng COMELEC En Banc ang petisyun ni De Guzman-Lara dahil naihain umano ito ng lagpas sa takdang panahon.
Gayunman, idineklara ng SC na naihain sa oras ang petition for disqualification laban kay Mamba.
“Under Section 3, Rule 25 of the COMELEC Rules of Procedure, disqualification petitions shall be filed any day after the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy (COCs) but not later than the date of proclamation. A petition for disqualification can be filed even after the exact time of the proclamation of a candidate, so long as it was filed within the same day. This is in accordance with Article 13 of the Civil Code, a substantive law that states that a day should be understood to mean 24 hours.” Teresa Tavares
