Lawyer Ervin Estandarte showed to the members of the media the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes where he fails to disclose his pending dissmisal case.| Futch Anthony Inso
CEBU CITY, Philippines— Lawyer Ervin Estandarte insisted that dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes’ failure to disclose his pending dismissal case on his certificate of candidacy (COC) for his reelection was a violation of the election law.
Earlier, Estandarte, a resident of Barangay Pagsabungan, Mandaue City, filed a disqualification petition against Cortes before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on October 25, which seeks to cancel the dismissed mayor’s COC for alleged material misrepresentation.
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In an interview, he emphasized that even if the order of the Ombudsman dismissing Cortes from public service is under appeal, he should have disclosed the matter in his COC instead of just putting N/A (not applicable).
Lawyer Jamaal James Calipayan, Mandaue City administrator, earlier has defended Cortes following petitions that the dismissed mayor committed material misrepresentation in his COC.
According to Calipayan, Cortes did not commit any violation in his COC because the dismissal is not final.
Calipayan pointed out that “the COC explicitly requires candidates to disclose only final and executory cases.”
Calipayan also confirmed that Cortes’ camp received the summon from the Comelec Second Division directing him to answer the disqualification petition filed by Estandarte.
“All questions asked in the COC are material representation. So he represented in the COC, in this particular question, whether he has a case, what is the docket number, title, date filed and status. He was asked these questions, he should have answered them. Now, he placed N/A, we know N/A is not applicable, meaning this particular question in the COC is ‘not applicable to me because I have no case.’ Now, that is a material representation which is false,” said Estandarte.
Material misrepresentation
Estandarte said Cortes committed material misrepresentation and violated Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code when he failed to disclose the dismissal case.
The Ombudsman had ordered Cortes’ dismissal after he was found guilty of grave misconduct for allowing a batching plant to operate in Mandaue without necessary permits.
Estandarte said that disclosing pending cases is critical for candidates.
Estandarte said had the former mayor disclosed his dismissal case, the Comelec could have administratively cancelled Cortes’ COC.
Estandarte also did not agree with Calipayan’s argument that it was unnecessary to disclose the dismissal case against Cortes as it was not yet final and executory.
“We will not talk about the finality or non-finality of the case. Whether it’s final or not, Cortes failed to disclose the case. He should have disclosed it because it was asked of him in the COC. That’s the main issue, it’s not about final or nothing is final,” said Estandarte.
Estandarte said Cortes was already aware of the dismissal order as it came a day before he filed his COC.
“The only reasons that he can cite why he answered N/A is he was insane or he answered it at gunpoint. Or he can say that he answered it in good faith but we all know that ignorance of the law excuses no one,” Estandarte said.
SC ruling cited
To prove that Cortes committed grave offense, Estandarte cited a previous ruling by the Supreme Court (SC).
He said that in the Tagolino vs. the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal case, the high tribunal ruled that “information provided by a candidate in his COC cannot be taken lightly.”
“Should a candidate make false statements of a material representation in the COC, his COC may be cancelled or denied due course,” Estandarte said, quoting the prevailing jurisprudence.
Estandarte also reiterated that politics had nothing to do with his decision to file a disqualification case against Cortes.
“This is not politically motivated because I’m a lawyer, no one can dictate me what to do. I am not a politician. I am a resident of Mandaue, I’m a voter. I am acting as a concerned citizen. And I saw that if he has this temirity to not be honest enough with the Comelec, what more to the ordinary Mandauehanon,” said Estandarte.
Aside from Estandarte, two other Mandaue residents have also filed the same petition against Cortes. The other petition filed also stemmed from Cortes’ faliure to disclose the dismissal case against him.
Cortes is seeking reelection against incumbent Provincial Board Member Jonkie Ouano.
After the Ombudsman ordered Cortes’ dismissal from service, the Comelec issued a resolution disqualifying him from next year’s election.
Cortes, however, was able to secure a Temporary Restraining Order from the Supreme Court against the Comelec resolution