Comelec cancels Camarines Norte governor’s COC

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has cancelled the certificate of candidacy of Camarines Norte Gov. Edgardo Tallado, who is seeking reelection.

The poll body said Tallado is barred from seeking another term as he had served for three consecutive terms.

In his motion for reconsideration, Tallado said he is eligible to run, noting that the poll body erred in finding that his suspension from office was not an “involuntary interruption of continuity of service.”

The Office of the Ombudsman suspended Tallado in 2015 and last year for grave abuse of authority.

The suspension orders stemmed from Tallado’s defiance of a Civil Service Commission ruling ordering the reinstatement of provincial veterinarian Edgardo Gonzales, who was appointed public information officer in 2016.

The Comelec said the pendency of Tallado’s petition for review of the suspension orders ”meant that he did not vacate his office.”

“No succession ever took place. There was no break in the respondent’s term,” the Comelec ruling read.

Tallado was also suspended for “disgraceful and immoral conduct” after nude photos and a sex video of him and his alleged mistress went viral on social media.

“This is just the first quarter, kumbaga sa basketball. Meron pang en banc, Court of Appeals at Supreme Court. Ang mahalaga ay manalo muna ako,” Tallado said of the Comelec ruling.  – With Mayen Jaymalin