Comelec to proclaim new Pampanga city mayor

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will proclaim Cris Garbo as the new mayor of this city.

The proclamation was set on June 27 as the Department of the Interior and Local Government ordered the implementation of a resolution signed by all Comelec  commissioners disqualifying Marino Morales and ordering the local board of canvassers to administer the oath of Garbo, who obtained the second highest number of votes.

Morales was disqualified from running in last year’s elections because he had served for three consecutive terms. The poll body dismissed the argument of Morales that he was city mayor only for a term since Mabalacat was declared a chartered city only in 2012. 

Morales was elected mayor of Mabalacat in 1995. He was removed from office months before the 2007 elections, but regained his seat and served until 2013.

Pyra Lucas, who placed fourth in the mayoral elections, filed the disqualification case.

Saying he would just do his job, Garbo assured city hall employees, including casuals and job order personnel, that they could ”stay put” in their positions.