Commission on Elections Chair George Garcia —File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta | Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Thursday that he would inhibit himself from the en banc in deciding on the case of candidacy cancellation of Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro.
According to Garcia, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, the petitioner, and Teodoro, the responder, were his former clients. Pimentel and Teodoro are both gunning for a seat in the House of Representatives for the 1st district of Marikina City.
“Yours truly will inhibit myself from that case. I want to tell that early on because the two rivals for that position were my past clients,” Garcia said in Filipino in an ambush interview.
“That’s why I decided, to show respect for the process, to not participate, and therefore [only] the six members of the Commission [en banc] will participate in the disposition of the Commission on Elections,” he added.
The Comelec First Division on Wednesday granted Pimentel’s petition to cancel Teodoro’s certificate of candidacy over material misrepresentation regarding his address.
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According to Pimentel’s petition, Teodoro has been a resident of Barangay Tumana in the 2nd District of Marikina since January 2018.
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The petition also said that his residency can be proven by the Application for Transfer of Registration Record filed with the Office of the Election Officer of the Commission in the same district in February 2024.
However, Garcia said that the cancellation of Teodoro’s candidacy was not yet final, and he was given five days to file a motion for consideration.
“Until the decision of the Comelec en banc is not yet final and there is a motion for reconsideration, the name of the candidate will not be removed from the list,” he said.
Garcia previously said that he would be inhibiting himself from handling or participating in any cases involving House aspirant Edgar Erice because of the cases that the latter filed against him.
In August, Erice filed a graft complaint against Garcia over the P18 billion contract deal with Miru Systems.
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