Comelec division to probe Lino Cayetano’s possible election violation
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) first division has ordered the poll body’s law department to probe Taguig City congressional candidate Lino Cayetano for possible violation of election laws.
This came after the first division, in a resolution dated last June 16, dismissed the petition cancelling the certificate of candidacy of Cayetano for being moot and academic based on his defeat for the position of representative of the 1st district of Taguig City in the 2025 midterm elections.
Cayetano lost to Ading Cruz with a margin of 34,117 votes.
“As Respondent holds no right or title to the office in question, any ruling on the merits would serve no practical purpose, and further adjudication is unnecessary,” the 17-page resolution read.
The division also ruled that the criminal aspect of the case must be referred to the law department “for the CONDUCT OF PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION for possible violation of election laws.”
READ: Comelec rejects residency transfer bid of ex-Taguig Mayor Lino Cayetano
The petitioner, Allen Normor, wanted Cayetano’s COC to be cancelled or denied due course due to misrepresentation of his residence. The Omnibus Election Code states that false declaration of information in the COC constitutes material misrepresentation, which constitutes an election offense.
The petitioner alleged that Cayetano has no actual and legal residence in Block 7, Lot 18, Accord Street, Barangay Usuan in the first district of Taguig City. The petitioner added that it is a non-existing address, “as indicated by his lack of physical presence therein and his contemporaneous acts.”
READ: Taguig court directs removal of Lino Cayetano, wide Fille from voters’ list
The petitioner also noted that Cayetano resides in Barangay Fort Bonifacio in the second district of Taguig City, noting that Cayetano voted in Sitio Tres in Barangay Fort Bonifacio for the October 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.
Meanwhile, Cayetano argued that the petitioner failed to prove that he committed material misrepresentation in his COC regarding his residency, noting that his address in the First District exists.
Cayetano added that the sworn statements used by the petitioner to prove non-residency “are not conclusive proof of residency and cannot override positive evidence to the contrary.”
The Comelec Election Registration Board (ERB) earlier rejected the attempt of Cayetano, and his wife, Fille Saint Merced Cayetano, to transfer their residency from the Second District of Taguig to the First District of Taguig-Pateros “for not having fully satisfied the requirement of residency [as] mandated by law.”
The Cayetanos filed their Application for Transfer of Voter Registration Record from the second district to the first district of Taguig City on September 28, 2024.
The Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 153 previously ordered the removal of both Cayetanos from the official list of voters in Barangay Usuan for failing to meet the residency requirement necessary for voter registration.
The couple then challenged the ERB decision, filing a petition with the Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 74, which ruled in their favor and ordered the inclusion of their names in the voter list in Barangay Usuan.
However, the Taguig RTC Branch 153 reversed the ruling, noting that the petition was not filed within the required timeframe. /cb
