By Ferdinand Patinio | Philippine News Agency
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday canceled Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Teodoro’s certificate of candidacy (COC) for a congressional seat in the 2025 national and local elections (NLE) for material misrepresentation.
In a 25-page decision, the poll body’s First Division granted the petitions filed by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III and Leighrich Estanislao to cancel Marcelino’s COC.
The First Division noted that Teodoro failed to meet the one-year residency requirement to the area or district he would like to represent in the House of Representatives.
“Undeniably, respondent is not a stranger or newcomer in the 1st District of Marikina City, having been born therein and even became the first representative of the 1st Congressional District of Marikina in 2007,” Comelec said.
“Yet the fact remains that he has abandoned his domicile of origin in the 1st District and acquired a new domicile of choice in the 2nd District. There is also no prohibition for the respondent to return to his domicile of origin and restore his legal residence therein. But for purposes of election, respondent must provide sufficient proof that he has re-established his residence in his domicile of origin, for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the 2025 NLE,” it added.
Despite knowing fully well that he did not meet the minimum residency requirement, the Comelec said Teodoro “committed material misrepresentation which the Commission (First Division) cannot countenance.”
“Taking all these circumstances together, we find that the petitioners were able to discharge their burden of proving that respondent deliberately committed material misrepresentation in his COC. Hence, we are constrained to grant these Petitions and order the cancellation of his COC for the position of Member, House of Representatives for the 1st District, Marikina City,” the First Division said.
Teodoro filed his COC on Oct. 5, 2024, declaring that he has been a resident of the first district of Marikina for one year and one month.
However, Pimentel and Estanislao claimed Teodoro has been residing at 91 Nova Scotia St., Loyola Grand Villas in Barangay Tumana, which is located in the second district of Marikina since Jan. 28, 2018.
Pimentel has also filed a COC for Marikina’s first district congressional seat.
Appeal
Teodoro said he would appeal the poll body’s decision.
“I will file a Motion for Reconsideration, and I have five days from today within which to do so; the Resolution is not yet final and for all intents and purposes I am still a legitimate candidate for Member of the House of Representatives of the First District of Marikina,” Teodoro said in a statement.
He said there are “political underpinnings“ geared toward his removal from the electoral race, with two petitions filed against him.
“I will not allow this to happen and will exhaust all legal remedies available to me,” he added.
Teodoro noted that initially, the local Comelec, through the Election Registration Board of the city’s first district, upheld his transfer of voter’s registration and application for transfer.
“It is worth noting that the purpose of the residency requirement is to prevent a stranger or a newcomer who is unacquainted with the conditions and needs of a community and not identified with such community from seeking an elective office to serve the constituents of that community,” he said. (with report from Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)