THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified a Cebu-based shipping operator from running for the lone congressional district of Camiguin in Northern Mindanao for failing to meet residency requirements.
In a resolution promulgated April 11, 2025, the Comelec en banc denied the motion for reconsideration by Paul Y. Rodriguez, owner of Asian Maritime Transportation Corp., affirming the Second Division’s earlier decision to cancel his certificate of candidacy for the May 12, 2025 elections.
The case began when Rodriguez’s opponent, Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo, filed a petition claiming that Rodriguez falsely declared residency in Camiguin.
The Second Division ruled Rodriguez committed material misrepresentation in his certificate of candidacy, stating he lived in Catarman, Camiguin, for 11 years and 4 months.
Multiple pieces of evidence presented by Romualdo showed Rodriguez actually resides in Cebu City. These included testimonies from local officials, a judicial affidavit from Catarman’s municipal mayor and corporate documents from 2020-2024 listing Rodriguez’s address in Cebu City.
Deadline missed
Rodriguez missed the deadline to file a verified answer to the petition. He later claimed he was logged out of his email account and couldn’t access the summons sent by the Comelec on Nov. 27, 2024.
The Comelec rejected this argument, stating candidates must ensure their contact information remains accessible. The poll body also noted that Rodriguez only inquired about the case in February 2025 after hearing rumors about his potential disqualification.
The residency requirement mandates that congressional candidates must live in their district for at least one year before the election.
The case records have been forwarded to the Comelec Law Department for preliminary investigation of possible election offenses. / KAL