Dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes. | File photo
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – It’s not yet over for dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.
Cortes said he will be filing an appeal before the Supreme Court (SC) over the decision of the Comelec Second Division to already cancel his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) and exclude him from the official list of candidates for the May 2025 midterm elections.
The former mayor is seeking a status quo or the issuance Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), according to Atty. Jamaal James Calipayan, the Mandaue City Administrator.
“Keep the Faith, Mandaue!,” Cortes said in a statement that he posted on his Facebook page on Friday, December 27.
READ: Mayor Cortes camp awaiting Comelec decision on motion for reconsideration
“Atong gibuhat ang tanan nga pamaagi ug ipadangat nato ang tanan ngadto sa Korte Suprema aron pagseguro nga atong makab-ot ang hustisya ug madunggan ang tingog sa katawhan nga nangandoy sa makatarunganon ug patas nga balaud,” he added.
Cortes remains hopeful that he will get justice as he also continues to seek for the truth.
READ: Jonas Cortes appeals cancellation of COC
“Dili kini maoy katapusan sa atong kawsa sa pagpangayo og hustisya hinoon kini ang sinugdanan sa atong pakigbisog alang sa kamatuoran sa patas nga hustisya,” he said.
CHALLENGE
Meanwhile, Cortes thanked his supporters who continue to believe in him.
READ: Cortes faces new petition for disqualification from 2025 elections
“Salamat sa inyo nga padayon nga pagbarug ug pagkuyog kanako. Together, we will overcome this challenge,” he said.
The Commission on Elections En Banc has denied the motion for reconsideration that Cortes filed on December 23 and upheld the decision of the Comelec Second Division to already cancel his COC.
Cortes is now listed as among the candidates whose COCs “were denied due course or canceled in the Comelec’s latest updates on Special Proceedings Actions (SPA) petitions linked to the May 12, 2025, National and Local Elections (NLE) and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections as of Friday, December 27, 2024.”
On December 18, the Comelec Second Division ruled to cancel Cortes’ COC on accusations that he was no longer eligible to seek the city’s mayorship after the Ombudsman ordered him dismissed from service.
The printing of ballots for next year’s election starts on January 6, 2025.