Duterte seeks dismissal of 4 DQ cases

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Friday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to dismiss the four disqualification cases filed against him.

In his consolidated memorandum, Duterte asked the Comelec First Division to dismiss the petitions filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor, nuisance presidential candidate Rizalito David, University of the Philippines Student Council chair John Paulo Delas Nieves and lawyer Eli Pamatong, all of whom are questioning his substitution to Martin Diño as the standard-bearer of PDP-Laban.

“By accepting respondent Duterte’s certificate of candidacy as a substitute candidate, the Comelec en banc confirmed that a valid substitution of candidacy for the position of President had taken place by operation of law between Diño as the withdrawing candidate and respondent Duterte as the substitute candidate,” he said in a 25-page memorandum.

“Needless to say, it is beyond the authority of the Comelec First Division to set aside the en banc’s resolution and reexamine the election documents. What is done can no longer be undone,” it added.

On Dec. 17, the Comelec en banc ruled to acknowledge and accept the certificate of candidacy (COC) for President of Duterte to replace Dino as part of its “ministerial function.”

It, however, noted that the 6-1 decision of the commission is without prejudice to the pending disqualification cases filed against Duterte.

The disqualification cases all alleged that Duterte had no bona fide candidate to substitute since the COC for President of Diño was materially defective and was, therefore, invalid.

Duterte’s camp, however, stressed that all the grounds used by the Comelec en banc already covered the questions in the disqualification cases.