Jonas Cortes appeals cancellation of COC

Dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes. | CDN Digital photo / Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu – For dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, his ‘fight for justice’ is far from over.

Cortes said in an interview on Monday that his lawyers already filed a motion to seek reconsideration of the decision of the Comelec Second Division to cancel his Certificate of Candidacy (COC).

He said that his COC should not be cancelled until such time that his dismissal from government service becomes “final and executory.” As of this writing, the Supreme Court is yet to rule on the appeal that Cortes filed.

READ: Comelec cancels Jonas Cortes’ candidacy for false representation

Moreover, Cortes said that he did not commit material misrepresentation, which the Comelec Second Division used as basis to cancel his candidacy for Mandaue City mayor in the May 2025 midterm elections.

“Og ato lang gyud subayon sa balaod, ako qualified gyud. In fact, ang allegation nga dili ko qualified considering nga wala ko moangkon nga aduna koy kaso, we have to consider nga ang finality niana, didto sa pinakataas nga korte, which is the Supreme Court. Under appeal pa, so why would I say nga naa koy kaso nga with finality? Para nako, no ang akoang tubag,” said Cortes.

READ: Mandauehanons rally behind embattled Mayor Jonas Cortes

(If we follow the law, it says that I’m qualified to seek election. In fact, the allegation that I am not qualified because I did not declare that I have a case, we have to consider that the Supreme Court is yet to rule on the finality of this case.  This remains under appeal, so why would I say that I have a case that was already ruled with finality?  For me, my answer is no.)

MATERIAL AND FALSE REPRESENTATION

Atty. Jamaal James Calipayan, the Mandaue City Administrator, shared on his Facebook page a certified true copy of the questionnaire from Comelec that Cortes answered.

READ: Dismissed Mayor Cortes to appeal Comelec ruling to ‘seek justice’

Item no. 16 asked the question: “Have you ever been found liable for an offense which carries with it the necessary penalty of perpetual disqualification to hold public office, which has become final and executory?”

Cortes marked the box for “no.”

However, the Comelec’s Second Division ruled that Cortes committed material and false representation. The decision stemmed from a petition filed by lawyer Ervin Estandarte, who accused Cortes of serious misrepresentation by asserting his eligibility to seek an elective post despite his dismissal from service by the Ombudsman, which he learned of a day before he filed his COC.

READ: Rep. Ouano-Dizon denies hand in cancellation of Cortes’ COC

JUSTICE

In response to the petition, Cortes’ legal team asserted that they submitted a reply. However, the Comelec’s resolution noted that Cortes failed to file an Answer Cum Memorandum within the specified deadline.

The dismissed mayor’s lawyers argued that the deadline set fell on a Saturday, and according to the court rules, submissions due on weekends are typically extended to the next working day—Monday, the very day that they filed their motion.

Cortes expressed hope that Comelec would consider their ‘substantive’ response. He also conveyed his gratitude to his supporters for their unwavering support.

“This is no longer about me, it’s about the people of Mandaue, it’s about justice, protecting the rights of every Mandauehanons,” Cortes said.

Meanwhile, he accused his political opponents of orchestrating his disqualification and urged them to instead focus on having a fair election here rather than relying on disqualification tactics and their political connections.