'Disqualify Tupas,' Obet asks Comelec
Gubernatorial candidate Roberto "Obet" Armada wants re-electionist Governor Niel Tupas Sr. to be disqualified from the gubernatorial race.
As such, the Provincial Comelec here now have three disqualification cases to be considered, one in the provincial post and the other two thus far, on mayoralty bets of two Iloilo towns.
In a text message sent to The News Today (TNT), Armada confirmed the disqualification raps against Tupas Sr. saying he did file "because I am the opponent and should act as the interested party to the case. One of the three penalties meted to Tupas by the Ombudsman was perpetual disqualification to hold public office. Hence, to give essence to the law, it is a matter of due course which we should undertake."
To recall, Tupas was found guilty of grave misconduct and dishonesty in an anti-graft case filed by the People's Graftwatch of Iloilo before the Office of the Ombudsman.
He was ordered dismissed from office however managed to get a permanent injunction from the Court of Appeals that ruled against the manner of serving the order.
Tupas is expected to be served the copy of Armada's disqualification case immediately after last week's filing before the Provincial Comelec office. A counter from the Tupas side will follow with the Comelec out to submit corresponding recommendations to the Legal Department in the Central Office.
The Tupas disqualification raps was also followed by a similar move on the mayoralty fight in Carles, Iloilo and the contested mayoralty seat in yet another Northern Iloilo town of Batad.