Wife taking place of disqualified bet

SAN PEDRO, Laguna—The wife of Mayor Calixto Cataquiz is taking the place of her husband, who was recently disqualified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) from seeking reelection.

Cataquiz’s wife, Lourdes, 65, filed her certificate of candidacy on Friday at the Comelec office here, almost at the same time the mayor received his copy of the Comelec resolution, disqualifying him from the mayoralty race.

“Baby (Lourdes’ moniker) and I are the same,” said the disqualified mayor.

The Comelec first division on May 7 granted the petition of Cataquiz’s rival, San Pedro Vice Mayor and Liberal Party candidate Norvic Solidum, to disqualify the mayor based on the 2011 Supreme Court ruling that barred Cataquiz from reemployment in government service.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the workers’ union Concerned Employees of the Laguna Lake Development Authority that resulted in Cataquiz’s dismissal as head of the lake agency in 2003.

Under election guidelines, substitution for a deceased or disqualified candidate is allowed until midday of Election Day provided the substitute bears the same surname of the one he or she is replacing.

In a phone interview, Cataquiz, a member of the Nacionalista Party, expressed confidence the last-minute switch would not discourage his supporters.