Comelec 2nd division disqualifies Albay governor Rosal from May 2025 polls

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division has cancelled the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Albay Governor Noel Rosal for the May 2025 elections over alleged material misrepresentation.

In a 14-page decision, the poll body division granted a petition filed by Adrian Loterte seeking to deny due course to Rosal's reelection bid, following an Ombudsman ruling in August 2024 that found the governor guilty of grave misconduct and oppression and prohibited him from holding any public office.

The Comelec division said Rosal committed material misrepresentation when he indicated in his COC that he is eligible to run for public service despite the Ombudsman decision. 

It also rejected Rosal's contention that the poll body should suspend or dismiss the petition in light of a Supreme Court (SC) temporary restraining order (TRO) favoring his appeal to void a previous election case, saying that "notwithstanding the SC's issuance of the said TRO, legal and factual basis exists for the Comelec Second Division to give due course to the instant petition."

"Wherefore, in view of the foregoing, petition is hereby granted and the COC of respondent Noel Rosal for Governor of the Province of Albay for the May 12, 2025, national and local elections is denied due course to and/or cancelled," the decision reads. 

"Accordingly, the votes cast in favor of the respondent are considered stray," it said. 

The Comelec division likewise ordered the forwarding of the case to the poll body's law department for the conduct of a preliminary investigation for possible election offenses. 

GMA News Online has requested comment from Rosal's office, but it has yet to respond as of posting time.

In January, the commissioners en banc affirmed a separate petition disqualifying Rosal from the May midterm polls.

The Office of the Ombudsman's 2024 decision stemmed from a complaint filed by Loterte questioning the governor's reassignment of three department heads to lower ranked positions in different offices.

Rosal had said that as governor, he is authorized to reassign officials to ensure that they are performing, and that this was never invalidated by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

However, the Ombudsman said it can make its own findings regardless if the CSC did not question the reassignment. — VDV, GMA Integrated News