Vice mayor may be lone mayoralty candidate

THERE'S a possibility that Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will end up running unopposed for the mayoral post in the May 13 midterm elections, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec)-Davao Region lawyer Danilo Cullo.

The Comelec had recommended to declare as nuisance candidates five others namely: Rodrigo P. Buezon, Teodoro Peña Mantilla, Magdaleno S. Marcellones, Rolly T. Solis, and Rodrigo J. Sulamin, who are challenging Duterte for the post following a hearing conducted last January 11.

Comelec has also listed Duterte in its website as the lone candidate running for the city's highest post under the political party "Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod." The last update of poll body's website (www.comelec.gov.ph) was on January 31, 2013.

Cullo said the five other mayoral bets may not make it to the "Certified List of the Candidates," although he cannot say with finality on the matter pending resolution from the Comelec en banc.

"We have not yet received any notice that they have been disqualified," he said.

In a separate interview, Comelec regional election officer lawyer Aimee F. Ampoloquio said they conducted a hearing on nuisance candidates last January 11 where the five mayoralty bets were invited for an investigation.

Comelec was trying to determine if indeed they are capable enough to run, Ampoloquio said.

"Probably, they have been declared as nuisance but the notice is yet to be issued," she added.

Even before the hearing, Ampoloquio said the poll body in the city already came up with a list of possible nuisance candidates based on their "demeanor and actions," citing instances where they answered vaguely to television interviews about their platforms.

Comelec Resolution 8678 states that "a candidate can be considered nuisance if he "put(s) the election process in mockery or disrepute; causes confusion among the voters by the similarity of names of registered candidates; or, one who has no bona fide intention to run for the office."

This was the first time Comelec had conducted a hearing where suspected nuisance candidates were subjected to an investigation.

"After the submission of COC (certificate of candidacy), Comelec en banc asked us to submit recommendation who among them were nuisance," Ampoloquio said.

The poll body is also looking at the capability of the candidates to employ machineries in the campaign.

Meanwhile, Davao City has a total of 967,944 registered voters in Davao City. The city's first district has the highest number of voters at 415,882, followed by second district at 297,930, and third district at 254,132.