THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday suspended the proclamation of the leading congressional candidate in Marikina’s first district and proclaimed the winner in the mayoralty race in Quezon City.
A disqualification case against Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro was earlier filed by Senate minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, saying that Teodoro is not qualified to run for representative of the city’s first district because he is not a legal resident there.
Meanwhile, newly-proclaimed Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte vowed to do her best as a public servant in her third consecutive term as the city’s local chief executive.
“I assure every QCitizen that the next three years will be the best of my life as a public servant,” Belmonte said in a statement.
Pimentel called on the Comelec to rule on the disqualification case against Teodoro based on the ruling issued by the poll body’s first division on December 11, 2024 that declared Teodoro not qualified to run in the city’s first district.
Teodoro has been leading the congressional race in the city’s first district but the Comelec suspended his proclamation until the electoral complaint is resolved.
Pimentel said Teodoro’s certificate of candidacy (CoC) was cancelled by the Comelec first division after he was found to have committed material misrepresentation in filing his CoC to run as congressman in the city’s first district in October last year.
“Marcy Teodoro is not eligible to run for congressman because he played around with the constitutional requirements for this important office. We have raised this issue from the very start since October 2024 and the Comelec first division sided with us in December 2024,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said the Comelec concluded that Teodoro had established legal residence in Marikina’s second district, specifically in Barangay Tumana, before filing his candidacy, and failed to meet the one-year residency requirement for congressional aspirants.
Citing a series of legal documents, sworn testimonies, and official IDs, the Comelec found that Teodoro’s claim of having returned to Barangay San Roque, in the first district, in April 2024 was not supported by credible, overt acts required to re-establish domicile under the election law, Pimentel said.
Pimentel said the documents that Teodoro submitted to the court as late as September 2024 still bore his Tumana address.
“By declaring the contrary in his CoC, despite knowing fully well that he did not meet the minimum residency requirement, Teodoro committed material misrepresentation which this Commission cannot countenance,” the Comelec ruling stated.
Teodoro argued that his legal pleadings contained the Tumana address due to his counsel’s error, but the Commission rejected this defense, stating that a notarized document carries a presumption of truth and that a candidate is presumed to be aware of the contents of the documents he signs.
The decision also cited Teodoro’s updated driver’s license reflecting his Tumana address and testimonies from residents near his supposed first district address who attested they had not seen him residing there.
Teodoro appealed the first division’s ruling and was allowed to run since the decision was not yet final and executory.
Under Philippine election laws, a congressional candidate must have resided in the district for at least one year before election day. While a return to a former domicile is legally allowed, it must be demonstrated through an actual move, the intent to remain, and the abandonment of the previous domicile, all of which the Comelec said Teodoro failed to prove.
Belmonte told Quezon City residents: “I will give everything I’ve got — my energy, my passion, my dedication — to fulfill the dreams of our people for a better, more inclusive, and more progressive Quezon City.”
Belmonte was proclaimed by the Commission on Elections as the winner in the mayoral race during last Monday’s elections, defeating her four opponents.
Belmonte earned 1,030,730 votes or 95.56 percent of the votes cast.
“As I enter my final term, my only goal is to leave behind a Quezon City that’s more empowered, more resilient, and more compassionate,” said Belmonte.
