Disqualification of Pasig Mayor-elect Vico Sotto sought

MANILA, Philippines — A petition to disqualify Pasig City Mayor-elect Vico Sotto was filed on Tuesday, a week after his proclamation, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair George Erwin Garcia said.

“I don’t know the nature [of the case], but I was informed by the clerk of the commission that it was a petition to disqualify that candidate,” Garcia added.

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“Question, is that still allowed? I will not answer the merits. But usually, the petition to disqualify is only allowed to be filed before the proclamation of the candidate,” he said.

According to the Comelec chair, what can be filed are an election protest or quo warranto “or if you want to file a criminal case like [an] election offense.” Sotto was proclaimed the winner on May 13, or a day after the midterm elections, with 351,392 votes, according to the Comelec’s official tally. —John Eric Mendoza