2nd placer to assume in lieu of DQ’d winner

CEBU, Philippines — Up to date, 22 SK bets have been issued petition for disqualification by the Comelec First and Second Division based on two common grounds namely age eligibility, and voter registration.

There are 267 bets for both barangay and SK who were recommended for motu propio disqualification but only 22 have been issued with notices at present. Comelec Cebu Province is expecting more notices to be sent to them from Manila.

The Election Officers (EOs) of the concerned cities and towns are tasked to serve the notices.

Once received, the SK bets will have to make a formal reply to the petition addressed to the Comelec division which handles their case.

If a bet has been proclaimed as winner but a notice of disqualification arrived, the effect of the proclamation will be suspended.

If a bet makes a reply and does not contest the disqualification petition, the Comelec shall proclaim the "qualified" rival with the highest number of votes according to Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Lionel Marco Castillano.

Comelec has a database which they used to verify the information given by the bets when they filed their COC.

Some of the bets purposely submitted their COCs despite being warned by the EOs that they are not qualified while some falsified the data just to meet the eligibility requirements.

In case the election case is yet to be resolved, the councilor or SK member with the highest number of votes shall be the acting chairman until the resolution of the case.

Meanwhile, for barangays where there were no SK chairman candidates, the SK members may recommend someone to be appointed for the position or a Local Youth Development Officer may be appointed by the mayor. If not the mayor, the Department of Interior and Local Governance (DILG) will appoint.

All candidates, whether they won or not, should submit their respective Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) on or before June 13.

Comelec Regional Director Atty. Veronico Petalcorin said the candidates must submit their SOCE to the EOs.

“Kung wala sila ka file kaduha, tangtangon na sila, disqualified na sila sa sunod,” he said.

Campaign expenditures of candidates should not exceed P5 for every voter.

Petalcorin said that Comelec has already received all certificates of proclamation from the barangays. —Joyce Ann Gabutan, CNU Intern (FREEMAN)