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To seek the election disqualification of some 600 local officials who are allegedly involved in illegal drugs and corruption is a “baseless request” that would only waste the time of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), an election lawyer said on Thursday.
According to Atty. Romulo Macalintal, the request made by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to disqualify election candidates based on a mere list without final judgment from the courts, will violate the Constitution.
“The Omnibus Election Code and the Local Government Code provide that only conviction by a final judgment, meaning final and executory decision of the Supreme Court convicting said candidates for any crime involving moral turpitude could be ground for disqualification,” Macalintal said in a statement.
DILG officer-in-charge Eduardo Año sad he would recommend the disqualification from the 2019 midterm elections, some 600 officials who are facing corruption cases and those who are included in the government’s “narcolist” or list of politicians allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade.
“Comelec has many other urgent matters to attend to in preparation for the coming polls and should not be disturbed by such a baseless request,” Macalintal said.
“To disqualify based on said list will violate the constitutional right of a person to presumption of innocence and right to due process or opportunity to be heard in any case be it criminal or administrative,” he added pointing out that there are several candidates in prison but were allowed to run and serve while in detention.
“In a word, the final judgment is an indispensable requisite to disqualify any candidate running for an elective office,” said Macalintal. /muf
READ: DILG chief seeks disqualification of ‘narcopols’ from 2019 elections
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