Comelec urged to resolve petitions vs Cayetano couple

MANILA, Philippines — Eleven days before the May 13 elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) still has to resolve several petitions questioning the candidacies for seats in the House of Representatives of former Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and his wife, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, over their separate residences.

In a motion for immediate resolution, Leonides Buac Jr., through lawyer Emilio Marañon, on Tuesday urged the poll body to resolve the separate disqualification cases she filed against the Cayetanos.

Alan is running in Taguig’s first congressional district, while Lani is seeking a House seat in the city’s second district.

According to Buac, Article 69 of the Family Code mandates the Cayetano couple to fix one matrimonial residence, while Article 68 obliges them to live there together.

Allowing the Cayetanos to run using separate domiciles “can set landmark precedents” and “would effectively be a license for married couples to split residences and run in two different jurisdictions,” he said. —Tina G. Santos