AN INCUMBENT mayor of Balete, Aklan is already a presumptive winner after the second division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared his opponent a nuisance.

In a four-page copy of the Comelec decision, it said that the manifest is a certification of finality in the entitled case dated May 9, 2019. It was penned by Luis Tito Guia, presiding commissioner, and commissioners Socorro Inting, and Antonio Kho Jr.

The manifest stated that incumbent mayor Dexter Calizo, 28, filed the petition for disqualification of his opponent Loduvico C. Villaruel Jr., 68 on October 22, 2018.

Calizo asserts that Villaruel filed the certificate of candidacy for mayor with clear intention of putting the election process in mockery or disrepute. The respondent is allegedly an unknown individual in Balete and is incapable of waging a city-wide campaign for the position of mayor because he has no visible income and adequate earnings to support a decent and credible campaign for elective position he is seeking.

The Comelec on April decided the motion to declare Villaruel a nuisance candidate and was asked by the Comelec Second Division to comment or file a consideration. Villaruel reportedly failed to file any motion for reconsideration, thus the Comelec has now decided on finality.

At present, Villaruel could not be reached for comment. (SunStar Philippines)