The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has disqualified and annulled the proclamation of Alston Kevin Anarna as mayor of Silang, Cavite in Eleksyon 2025.
This developed after the poll body en banc granted a motion for reconsideration (MR) filed by former Silang Mayor Ted Carranza, which seeks to reverse a ruling of the Comelec First Division, dismissing the petition for disqualification he lodged against Anarna.
Carranza filed the disqualification petition on the grounds of a October 2024 decision of the Ombudsman, dismissing Anarna from public office for grave misconduct and serious dishonesty. It also perpetually disqualified him from holding public office.
In his MR, the former mayor prayed for the reversal of the assailed order, explaining he failed to copy furnish the respondent with the copy of the petition due to inadvertence of the firm’s newly hired personnel. Carranza also argued the Comelec can motu proprio bar a candidate suffering from perpetual disqualification and delist as a candidate of the May midterm polls.
“To permit a candidate who is administratively disqualified to run for office would render the constitutional and statutory sanctions imposed by the Ombudsman inutile, effectively frustrating the ends of administrative discipline and making a mockery of the electoral process,” the five-page decision reads.
“It bears emphasis that Comelec, as a constitutional commission, is duty-bound to protect the sanctity of elections and ensure that only qualified and eligible individuals are allowed to run for public office,” it added.
The Comelec en banc ordered the disqualification and voiding of Anarna’s proclamation and directed the votes cast in his favor to be considered as stray. It also instructed the Municipal Board of Canvassers to reconvene and proclaim the winning candidate.
‘Gross violation of constitutional right’
Lawyer Emil Marañon, legal counsel of Anarna, said their camp will file a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse the decision, which he said is a “gross violation” of this constitutional right to due process of Anarna.
Marañon said their camp allegedly did not receive any notice of the suit, summon, and answer from the Comelec.
“This is of course not only vulgarly illegal, but a gross violation of the constitutional right to due process of Mayor Anarna. In fact, this procedural travesty has never ever happened in the history of the Comelec,” he said.
“That while we are still in the process of studying this case, it appears that the case has been based on the equally erroneous Joint Decision of the Office of the Ombudsman dated October 9, 2024 in the consolidated cases docketed as OMB-C-A-APR-24-0025, OMB-C-A-APR-24-0026 and OMB-C-A-JUN-24-0053 which remains non-final to this day, and still pending resolution before the Court of Appeals. Obviously, candidates can be ‘disqualified’ only on the basis of a final decision,” said Marañon.
He added: “Definitely, we will elevate this case to the Supreme Court by way of a Petition for Certiorari and we are very confident that this will easily be reversed.” — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
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