LUCENA CITY—Reelectionist Mayor Ramon Preza of Tiaong town in Quezon province is facing a disqualification case in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) after his rival claimed that he had been wanted by American authorities since 1992.
In a four-page petition filed in the Comelec office in Manila on Friday, mayoral candidate Roderick Umali (PDP-Laban) said Preza escaped prosecution from a sexual molestation case lodged in the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago in 1991.
In an interview on Sunday, Umali said Preza’s alleged victim was a minor and a relative of the mayor’s wife.
But Preza denied the accusation and called the disqualification case a “desperate dirty politicking” by his rival.
“How can I be labeled as a fugitive from justice from the United States when I’ve been to America several times in the past several years?” Preza told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Monday.
He said he was once a green card holder but abandoned his permanent resident status in 2013 when he ran for mayor and won against Umali’s father, former Mayor Raul Umali.
“I’ve since been using a tourist visa [in my travels to the US],” said Preza. His Filipino wife, a dentist, is an American citizen and based in Chicago.
Preza said his lawyer was ready to submit his travel documents to the court to refute Umali’s accusation.
In his petition, Umali attached photocopies of court documents from Cook County that supposedly showed Preza’s charge sheets and warrant of arrest dated June 26, 1992, after he allegedly jumped bail.
Umali said he went to the United States early this month to get copies of these documents from the court.
He included a document signed by Alena Grace Borra, a consul of the Consulate General of the Philippines in Chicago, dated Jan. 26, 2016, certifying his affidavit that the court documents were authenticated copies from the Cook County court.
Last month, Preza filed a P10-million libel complaint against Umali after the latter posted several comments on his Facebook page that disparaged the official. He said Umali’s comments were malicious and were intended to damage his reputation. Umali has denied the accusation.
Preza, owner of Ramloid Gaming Corp., a franchise holder of the Small Town Lottery in Laguna province, ran but lost in the mayoral race in Tiaong in 2007.
In 2010, Umali ran for mayor with Rolando, the late brother of Preza, as his running mate. Both won.
Ramon Preza returned to local politics in 2013 and won against Umali’s father. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon