Pimentel wants Comelec’s swift action on Teodoro’s disqualification
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has filed an urgent motion before the Commission on Elections (Comelec), urging the poll body to promptly resolve the cancellation of Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the city’s 1st District Congressional race. (File Photo from FAITH ARGOSINO / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III has asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to promptly resolve the cancellation of Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the city’s 1st District Congressional race.
Pimentel is also running for the same district in Marikina in the mid-term polls.
READ: Sen. Pimentel airs concern over Mayor Teodoro’s transfer to District 1
In his urgent motion that was filed on March 26, 2025, Pimentel reiterated that the Comelec First Division had already ruled in favor of the petitioners on December 11, 2024, ordering the cancellation of Teodoro’s COC.
“More than three months after the First Division’s ruling, the Comelec En Banc has yet to issue a final resolution,” his motion read.
Citing Section 7, Rule 18 of the 1993 Comelec Rules of Procedure, which requires motions for reconsideration in special cases to be resolved within 15 days, Pimentel argued that Comelec has long exceeded this period, making immediate action imperative, especially with the fact that more than three months have already passed.
“Napakalinaw ng desisyon ng First Division na kanselado ang COC ni Mayor Teodoro. Pero mahigit tatlong buwan na, bakit hindi pa rin ito naisasara? Comelec, kailangan ng mabilis at malinaw na aksyon,” Pimentel said in a statement on Friday.
(The decision of the First Division is very clear: Mayor Teodoro’s COC is canceled. But it’s been over three months, why hasn’t this been resolved yet? Comelec, quick and clear action is needed.)
It was in a 25-page decision last December when the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division canceled the COC of Teodoro.
The First Division ruled that Teodoro failed to satisfy the one-year residency requirement for the congressional district he seeks to represent in the House of Representatives.
This is after Teodoro filed his COC on October 5, 2024, declaring that he had been a resident of Marikina’s 1st District for one year and one month; however, Pimentel and Angelu Estanislao presented evidence showing that Teodoro had been living in Barangay Tumana — which is part of the city’s second district.
The Comelec then concluded that Teodoro committed a “material misrepresentation,” which the First Division said it “cannot countenance.”
Once the Comelec upholds its previous ruling, Teodoro will be officially disqualified from running for Congress.
Teodoro has also been slapped with a six-month preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman over serious allegations involving the questionable use of P130 million in PhilHealth funds.
READ: Marikina mayor, other city officials slapped with preventive suspension
In its official order, the Ombudsman cited “strong evidence pointing to the officials’ guilt,” providing sufficient grounds to suspend Teodoro along with several other city officials while the investigation is ongoing.
