THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) denied the request seeking to disqualify re-electionist Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
In a three-page resolution, the Comelec en banc ruled that the arguments presented in the motion are "mere rehash of petitioner's previous arguments."
Petitioner lawyer Nombraan Pangcoga failed to present sufficient evidence to justify his claim that Santiago is "of unsound mind", thus making her unfit to run for senator.
"Settled is the rule that he who alleges a fact has the burden of proving it. For mere allegation is not evidence and is not equivalent to proof," the resolution read.
Pangcoga earlier filed a motion for reconsideration saying that the dismissal of Santiago's disqualification case was premature.
The motion reasoned that the Comelec First Division failed to subpoena the medical records of the respondent in order to judge her mental condition.
Pangcoga in his earlier petition said that Santiago should not be allowed to run as senator because she has severe mental disorder.
Some of the mental disorders he alleged Santiago to be afflicted were delusions of grandeur, mood swings and paranoia.
Mayoral candidate's bid validated
Former Caloocan City Representative Luis "Baby" Asistio had a similar fate after the SC removed all legal impediments in his bid to run for mayor of the city.
Court spokesman Jose Midas Marquez on Tuesday said the SC issued a resolution granting Asistio's petition to stop the Caloocan Metropolitan Trial Court from implementing an order delisting him from the voters' list.
The SC resolution, Marquez said, has made Asistio eligible to run for public office.
"Petitioner Luis A. Asistio remains a registered voter of Precinct No. 1811A, Barangay 15, Caloocan City," ruled the Court En Banc in a 14-page decision penned by Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura.
The high court held that Asistio has always been a resident of Caloocan City since his birth or for more than 72 years, and that his family is known to be among the prominent political families in Caloocan City.
It noted that Asistio served in public office as Caloocan City 2nd District Representative in the House of Representatives, having been elected as such in the 1992, 1995, 1998, and 2004 elections.
"There is no showing that he has established domicile elsewhere, or that he had consciously and voluntarily abandoned his residence in Caloocan City," the Court said.
The case stemmed from a petition filed by re-electionist Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri seeking to exclude Asistio from the list of voters on the ground that he is not a resident of Caloocan City.
Asistio brought his case to the SC after the Caloocan Regional Trial Court dismissed his appeal to reverse the order for the removal of his name from the local voters' list.
The Caloocan court dismissed Asistio's petition because he paid the filing fees a day late.
In his petition before the SC, Asistio said the Caloocan RTC Judge Thelma Aguirre committed grave abuse of discretion in dismissing his appeal, which resulted in a denial of his right to due process.
Claiming that he has his domicile of origin in Caloocan, Asistio conceded that he might have changed his residence but he has always been a resident of Caloocan. (Angela Casauay/JCV/Sunnex)