Published in the Bohol Standard
It could be ignorance of the law or blatant violation of requirements in filing certificates of candidacies (COCs) for the May 14 elections that is causing a head ache for this candidate.
Former governor and congressional aspirant for the third district congressional seat Rene Relampagos has filed a petition to disqualify another candidate for the same position Dionisio Balite on the fact that his (Balite’s) certificate of candidacy was notarized by no other than his own son-in-law Salvador Diputado.
“Balite’s act in knowingly and willfully allowing his son-in-law to perform the function of a notary public is in direct, gross and blatant violation of Section 3 {c), Rule IV (Powers and Limitations of Notaries Public) of Supreme Court en banc A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC, otherwise known as the “2004 Rules on Notarial Practice,†Relampagos said in his petition.
The rules states “a notary public is disqualified from performing a notarial act if he is a spouse, common-law partner, ancestor, descendant or relative by affinity or consanguinity of the principal within the fourth civil degree.â€
The COC of Balite therefore “was not validly, duly and legally sworn†as required under the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, the petition pointed out.
Relampagos stated further that “if the notary public (in this case Atty. Salvador Diputado, son-in-law of Balite) does not have the capacity to notarize a document, but does so anyway, then the document should be treated as unnotarized.â€
Under Section 3 of the Omnibus Election Code, it provides that “no person shall be eligible for any elective public office unless a sworn certificate of candidacy has been filed during the prescribed period.â€
Relampagos asked the Comelec to cancel Balite’s candidacy with “more than sufficient ground†based on a defective, unnotarized COC.
The Bohol Standard tried to contact lawyer Diputado for an answer through his cellphone number 09215009631 but failed until press time.
A recorded message said, “number dialed is either unattended or out of coverage area.â€
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=7.0