Senator Koko Pimentel III pressed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc to swiftly rule on the disqualification case against Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro.
Pimentel, a former Senate President and bar topnotcher, maintained that Teodoro is not eligible to run for congressman as ruled by the Comelec First Division on December 11, 2024, which cancelled the certificate of candidacy (COC) of the embattled and suspended Marikina mayor.
“Marcy Teodoro is not eligible to run for congressman because he played around with the constitutional requirements for this important office,” the veteran legislator said.
“We have raised this issue from the very start since October 2024 and the Comelec First Division sided with us in December 2024,” the seasoned lawmaker pointed out.
“The unofficial vote count of one legislative district cannot override the constitutional requirements.”
“The unofficial vote count of one legislative district cannot override the constitutional requirements,” the senator added.
He said the Comelec should swiftly resolve the legal issue “as this has been pending since the last quarter of 2024”.
Pimentel expressed confidence that the Comelec will sustain the decision of the First Division which unanimously ruled to cancel Teodoro’s COC for material misrepresentation.
The division concluded that Teodoro had established legal residence in Marikina’s Second District—specifically in Barangay Tumana—prior to the filing of his candidacy, and failed to meet the one-year residency requirement for congressional aspirants in the First District.
Citing a series of legal documents, sworn testimonies, and official IDs, the Comelec found that Teodoro’s claim of having returned to Barangay San Roque, First District, in April 2024 was not supported by credible, overt acts required to re-establish domicile under election law. Notably, documents he submitted to the court as late as September 2024 still bore his Tumana address.
“Despite knowing fully well that he did not meet the minimum residency requirement, Teodoro committed material misrepresentation.”
“By declaring in his COC the contrary, despite knowing fully well that he did not meet the minimum residency requirement, Teodoro committed material misrepresentation which this Commission cannot countenance,” the Comelec ruling stated.
Teodoro argued that his legal pleadings contained the Tumana address due to an error by his counsel, but the Commission rejected this defense, stating that a notarized document carries a presumption of truth, and that a candidate is presumed to be aware of the contents of the documents he signs.
The decision also cited Teodoro’s updated driver’s license reflecting his Tumana address and testimonies from residents near his supposed First District address who attested they had not seen him residing there.
Under Philippine election laws, a congressional candidate must have resided in the district for at least one year prior to election day. While a return to a former domicile is legally allowed, it must be demonstrated through an actual move, the intent to remain, and the abandonment of the previous domicile—all of which the Comelec said Teodoro failed to prove.
