SK gov aspirant gets TRO over Comelec ruling
NDBC BANTAY HALALAN 2023 • 17:30 PM Sat May 7, 2022
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
COTABATO CITY – The Supreme Court on Friday issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against a Comelec ruling canceling the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of gubernatorial aspirant Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu of Sultan Kudarat.
“Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu’s candidacy remains valid, legal and legitimate,” according to his lawyer Atty. Cyrus Torreña.
Copies of the Supreme Court’s TRO were shared to the local media Friday night.
The highest court gave both parties 10 non-extendable days to comment on the TRO.
The TRO remains in effect until a new decision is issued by the Supreme Court, Torreña said.
“Datu Pax candidacy will continue,” he stressed, adding that his name is still in the official ballot.
Contrary to claims by the counsel of his client’s opponent, Atty. Torreña said votes for Datu Pax Ali will definitely not go stray following the issuance of TRO.
Datu Pax Ali, former mayor of Datu Abdullah Sangki in Maguindanao is the son of Sultan Kudarat Gov. Suharto Mangudadatu and his wife, Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu of Maguindanao.
He is running against one of the country’s beauty queens, Sharifa Akeel, wife of Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu who is challenging Maguindanao Gov. Mangudadatu in this year’s elections.
The poll body barred Datu Pax Ali from seeking the top seat in Sultan Kudarat due to issue of residency.
Voting 4-2 on May 2, the Comelec en banc denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Datu Pax Ali, a candidate of Lakas-CMD, and upheld its First Division’s ruling to cancel his COC.
Akeel-Mangudatu and two others filed petitions asking the poll body to cancel Datu Pax Ali’s COC since he committed false material representation in his candidacy papers when he stated in his CCOC that he was a resident of Lutayan town in Sultan Kudarat at the time of filing of COCs in October last year.
But Datu Pax argued he had resigned as mayor of Datu Abdullah Sangki and moved to Lutayan as his residence as early as May last year.
Efforts to reach Akeel-Mangudadatu or her counsel proved futile as of posting. (Edwin O. Fernandez)