Dismissed Roderick Paulate re-elected as Quezon City councilor

Roderick Paulate

MANILA — Actor Roderick Paulate won a fresh mandate as Quezon City councilor despite being ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman over ghost employees.

On the other hand, District 1 Rep. Francisco “Boy” Calalay Jr., who was also ordered dismissed together with Paulate and two staff members, suffered a loss to comebacking Vincent “Bingbong” Crisologo.

Paulate got 109,298 votes, securing the sixth and last spot for District 2 council seats eyed by 14 candidates.

The Ombudsman decision released in January found Paulate and Calalay guilty of hiring non-existent people for contractual jobs during their 2010 term as councilors. Calalay disbursed P2.175 million for the ghost employees, while Paulate disbursed P1.125 million, the Ombudsman said.  Officials who get unfavorable rulings from the Ombudsman usually file an appeal.

Calalay, who ran under the dominant Liberal Party, got 57,056 or 41.09 percent of the votes. He was beaten by Crisologo, a United Nationalist Alliance candidate with 81,799 or 58.90 percent of the votes.

Crisologo had been a two-term councilor and a three-term congressman. His wife Rita lost to Calalay in 2013. His son Onyx Crisologo is top councilor for District 1.

The Quezon City winners were proclaimed by the City Board of Canvassers Tuesday evening at the Carlos Albert Session Hall. Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte won their third term with an overwhelming number of votes surpassing their numbers in previous elections.  SFM