Lawyer filed a petition against the dismissed mayor

CEBU CITY — A new disqualification petition has been filed against ousted Mandaue City mayor Jonas Cortes, challenging his bid for re-election in the upcoming 2025 election.

The second petition against the mayor was filed by attorney Ervin Estandarte on October 25 and received by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on October 28. The commission is seeking revocation of Cortes’ certificate of candidacy (CoC) due to alleged material misrepresentation.

Estandarte, a resident of Barangay Pagsabungan, alleges that Cortes’ CoC falsely represented his eligibility to run by marking “Not Applicable” when asked about current cases or disqualification decisions.

Estandarte argues that this omission misled the Comelec by failing to disclose that Cortes was dismissed by the Ombudsman on October 3 for misconduct related to unlicensed operations in Mandaue.

He alleges that this omission violated Section 78 of the Omnibus Bill and Section 40(B) of the Local Government Act, both of which deal with material misrepresentation.

“Such an entry is a concrete representation of the COC of the respondent, as he knew very well that he was being dismissed,” reads part of his petition.

This latest petition follows the first petition filed earlier by Barangay Labogon residents Ines Corbo Necessario and Julita Oporto Narte, who accused Cortes of material misrepresentation.

On October 6, Cortes submitted his CoC for re-election. Three days later, he filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the Comelec’s Resolution 1104-A, seeking to rescind his candidacy.

The Supreme Court on October 21 granted Cortes and Cebu Mayor Michael Rama a temporary restraining order preventing the Comelec from disqualifying them. Rama faced dismissal for allegedly hiring his two brothers-in-law in the city government.

As of press time, Cortes has not yet issued a statement regarding the petitions filed against him.