Marinduque bet says she stays as a candidate

LUCENA CITY—Despite disqualification hanging over her head, the administration candidate for a House seat in Marinduque continues to campaign and is still in the race, according to the candidate’s lawyer.

Gregorio Larrazabal, former elections commissioner, said Regina Ongsiako Reyes, a Liberal Party candidate in Marinduque, said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruling that disqualified Reyes for being an American citizen “is not yet final and executory.”

“The ruling is simply premised on the supposition that Reyes is not a Filipino citizen,” Larrazabal said in a statement.

He said Reyes was a natural-born Filipino citizen who had never renounced or lost her Filipino citizenship.

Reyes, Larrazabal said, has filed a motion for reconsideration in the Comelec en banc on April 8.

Reyes said she was determined to pursue her candidacy despite the pending disqualification case.