Disqualification petition vs. Duterte submitted for resolution

The petition filed to disqualify Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte from the 2016 presidential elections has been submitted for resolution.

The counsels for the camp of Duterte and PDP-Laban's Martin Diño, Vitaliano Aguirre and Ted Contacto, told reporters that the petition was submitted after the petitioner  broadcaster Ruben Castor and his laywer, Oliver Lozano, failed to attend hearings by the Comelec First Division on Tuesday morning.

Commisison on Elections clerk, Abigail Justine Lilagan, confirmed that the petition has been submitted for resolution and that it will raffled off to a ponente.

Contacto said that Castor and Lozano sent an urgent ex parte motion, telling the court their presence were not needed for the proceedings to move.

"They are waiving daw 'yung presence nila because unnecessary and premature... Ang purpose po sana ng araw na ito ay marking of evidence, but since hindi nagpakita si Mr. Castor and si Atty. Lozano, sabi namin we do not have to proceed with the marking of evidence kasi unfair — siya 'yung nag-petition laban kay Martin Diño, PDP-Laban, at kay Mayor Duterte, tapos hindi magpapakita," he told reporters.

In response to the ex-parte motion, the lawyers of Duterte and Diño made an oral motion for the dismissal of the petition.

Contacto and Aguirre cited in their oral motion that it was specified in the Comelec's summon to Castor that his petition will be dismissed should he or his representative fail to attend the case conference set Tuesday.

The warning in the summon read: "The petition shall be dismissed should petition or authorized counsel fail to appear during the conference. Meanwhile, should respondent or authorized counsel fail to apear, the petition shall be deemed submitted for resolution."

"Pagkatapos, ang utos po ng Commission, idiretso namin ang markings. Sabi namin, this is unfair. They are making a mockery of these proceedings and we will not tolerate that," Contacto said, adding that the marking of evidence was eventually cancelled.

"Hindi kami magma-mark ng ebidensya kasi kapag nag-proceed kami, that means na okay lang sa amin na wala sila dito. Hindi po kami papayag that the petitioner will make a mockery of these proceedings, and we will pursue our motion for the First Divisoon to please dismiss the petition," the lawyer added.

Aguirre, meanwhile, said they are hopeful the First Division will junk Castor's petition.

Duterte in 2016 ballot

Aguirre said they are "everything we can" to make sure that Duterte's name will be in the ballot.

"It should be. It will be," he added.

Castor filed the petition last November 27, the same day that a lawyer filed the certificate of candidacy of Duterte to substitute for Diño.

Castor said Duterte is not qualified as a substitute for former Diño, who withdrew his presidential bid after his his ability to run a national campaign was questioned.

The petitioner said that Diño can only withdraw his candidacy for mayor of Pasay City because that was the post that he aspired for in his certificate of candidacy.

The Comelec's Second Division has dismissed the petition filed by the poll body's law department to declare Diño a nuisance candidate, saying it was already moot and academic.

It also granted Diño's motion to withdraw his COC and the law department's subsequent motion to withdraw its petition against him.

However, the Second Division said its decision should have no prejudice on the petition against Duterte.

The mayor appeared before the Comelec law department last December 8 to "reaffirm" his COC.

He and Aguirre said the law department did not find anything wrong in the COC filed last November 27 and they were told that there was no need tofile another COC. —ALG, GMA News