Comelec cancels COC of Albay governor

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division has canceled the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Albay Gov. Noel Rosal for alleged “material misrepresentation,” after he claimed he was eligible to run for office despite being penalized with perpetual disqualification by the Office of the Ombudsman.

According to a resolution promulgated on Oct. 21 but made public only on Tuesday, the Second Division said it decided to grant the petition of Adrian Loterte, who sought the cancellation of Rosal’s COC over the grounds of material misrepresentation.

 Votes cast in favor of Rosal in the May elections now considered as stray due to the cancellation, the division said.

Rosal allegedly made a false claim in his COC when he said that he was eligible to run for office, given a resolution by the Ombudsman in 2024 that found the governor guilty of grave misconduct, oppression and two counts of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.

The Ombudsman had dismissed Rosal from service and permanently barred him from holding a government position after he ordered a reassignment of several department heads, which affected the operations and service delivery of the provincial government and violated the rules of the Civil Service Commission rules.

READ: Ombudsman dismisses ex-Albay gov, bars from holding any public post

In a filing made in December last year, Rosal argued that the decision of the Ombudsman was not yet final “on account of his appeal,” stressing that he did not commit any material misrepresentation and that there was no factual or legal basis to cancel his COC.

While decisions by the Ombudsman are immediately executory based on its rules of procedure, Rosal said only the dismissal portion can be implemented and not the penalty of perpetual disqualification due to the fact that “there is no remedy provided by law should it be implemented and later reversed on appeal.”

Loterte’s petition should also be dismissed, Rosal argued, given the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court in October last year that enjoined the Comelec from implementing Resolution No. 11044-A.

The said resolution had disqualified him, alongside then Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and then Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, from participating in the 2025 elections following a dismissal from the Ombudsman.

READ: Rosal proclaimed Albay governor; Salceda legal plea dismissed

However, the Second Division said in its ruling that “legal and factual basis exists for the commission to give due course to the instant petition” by Loterte.

According to the ruling, Resolution No. 11044-A “pertains to the referral for administrative cancellation of the COC to the Law Department, and not to the cancellation, which is a proper subject of a petition requiring the Commission’s exercise of quasi-judicial function.”

The Second Division said the implementation of this referral, which is covered by the Supreme Court’s TRO, is “substantially distinct” from a petition for a denial of due course to and/or the cancellation of one’s COC.

Contrary to Rosal’s claim, the Second Division stressed that decisions of the Ombudsman are immediately executory based on its rules, “notwithstanding the timely filing of a motion for reconsideration or a petition for review.”

The Second Division agreed that Rosal materially misrepresented in his COC, noting that “despite his dismissal from office as governor, which disqualified him from running for the same position, he falsely claimed eligibility for the office he seeks to be elected to.”

 Meanwhile, lawyer Gauttier Dupaya, legal counsel for Rosal, said on Tuesday that they have already filed a motion for consideration before the Comelec en banc, reiterating that the resolution of the Second Division “is not based on actual facts.”

According to him, the decision of the Ombudsman which imposed a penalty of dismissal and perpetual disqualification from public office “had already been abandoned, or at least modified, by the Court of Appeals” through G.R. No. 185892, reducing it to a “mere one-year suspension.”

This one-year suspension, Dupaya explained, already expired on Sept. 4. He added that the Local Government Code also provides that “the penalty of suspension should not exceed the term of the government official during which the penalty was imposed.” /gsg