The senatorial bid of former mayor and retired policeman Abner Afuang hit a snag Thursday when he submitted a wrong version of the certificate of candidacy (COC).
Afuang said he was surprised when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) told him that the form earlier obtained by his political party, the Labor Party of the Philippines, had been changed.
“May bagong form na daw. Samantalang dito kumuha ‘yung presidente namin sa Labor Party of the Philippines, si Atty. Mel Chavez. Tapos biglang September nagpalit daw,” Afuang told reporters.
(There’s supposedly a new form. That’s despite it was here that our party president, Atty. Mel Chavez, obtained our form. Suddenly, in September, they changed it.)
The new form is different from the previous one because of Item No. 22, which asks the candidate if he has been given a penalty of perpetual disqualification from office as a result of a case. If the candidate answers ‘yes’, the back part of the document provides a space for the candidate to write the details of the case.
Former mayor and retired policeman Abner Afuang (left) files his COC before the Comelec in Manila on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
By 11 a.m., Afuang was able to file his COC using the correct form.
“Tuloy po ang takbo ko sa Senado… Kung tutuusin ayaw ko nang tumakbo,” he said.
He said he would push for restoring the death penalty for heinous crimes.
“Dapat ipasa ang death penalty, kahit magalit pa sa akin ang Simbahang Katoliko,” he said.
Afuang said he initially didn’t want to run for the Senate but he was prevailed upon by his party and the plight of Filipino workers.
“Naawa ako sa mga manggagawa. Pag bumabaha, yung mall, nakakaawa ang mga empleyado. Linggo andun sila parang mga timawa,” Afuang said.
Afuang was known for burning a Chinese flag in 2014 and throwing a bottle of water at Hayden Kho at a Senate hearing in 2009. /cbb
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