MikeLigalig.com

With the death of former Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Angelo Reyes, his petition filed before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to affirm his being the first nominee of the 1-Utak party-list group may be dismissed.

In a press conference on Tuesday, SC Spokesman and Court Administrator Atty. Jose Midas Marquez clarified that it will depend on the capacity by which Reyes filed his petition before the Court.

Marquez explained that if Reyes filed the petition in his own "personal capacity", the case will be dismissed following his death.

However, Marquez said, if the petition was filed by Reyes in his capacity as a nominee of the 1-Utak party-list group, the case may continue.

Reyes filed the petition before the SC after the Commission on Elections (Comelec) ruled disqualifying him as a nominee of the 1-Utak party-list group because of his being not a true representative of the transportation sector.

The Comelec ruling made the 3rd nominee of the 1-Utak party-list group, Homer Mercado, to be designated as its party-list representative in the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress.