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nab_uang
Jonkie Ouano is facing a disqualification petition over his citizenship
JUST three weeks before the elections, mayoral candidate Thadeo Jovito Ouano is facing a disqualification petition over his citizenship.
The petition was submitted by former Visayan Electric Company financial analyst Zoilo Cortes yesterday afternoon to the regional office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Zoilo is an uncle of Acting Mandaue City Vice Mayor Jonas Cortes, who is one of Ouano’s rival for the mayorship.
Jonas, however, refused to comment on his uncle’s petition when Sun.Star Cebu called him up last night.
In the petition, Zoilo asked the Comelec to declare Ouano ineligible to run for mayor and cancel his certificate of candidacy (COC).
He also asked Comelec to compel Ouano to pay P2 million in damages and attorney’s fees.
The petition also asked the Comelec to instruct the board of election inspectors and board of canvassers not to count any votes cast for Ouano.
In case the petition is not decided on before the day of the election, Zoilo asked election officials of Mandaue City to exclude the votes for Ouano from the counting.
When sought for comment, Ouano said he renounced his American citizenship on April 28, 2006 at the United States Embassy in Manila.
He took an oath stating: “I desire to make a formal renunciation of my American nationality, as provided by section 349 of the Immigration and National Act and pursuant thereto, I hereby absolutely and entirely renounce my United States nationality together with all rights and privileges and all duties of allegiance and fidelity thereunto pertaining.”
Ouano said he welcomes the petition filed against him and assured people he will answer it promptly.
“They have been saying that I am beginning to be desperate. Now this is their act of desperation,” he said.
“Linawgaw ra man na ila nga nangayo pa sila og damages. Ila man gipug-ngan ang katawhan nga mahatagan og chance makapili og tarong nga kandidato. Mao na klaro nga desperate move (They’re trying to stop people from having the chance to choose a good candidate. That’s clearly a desperate move),” Ouano said through a text message sent by publicist Jonji Gonzales.
Ouano became a naturalized American in October 1999. He said he gave it up last year when the family was still deciding who to field for mayor. Ouano finished a degree in respiratory therapy in California.
Ouano said yesterday that he just laughed upon knowing of the petition.
“They don’t know the truth,” Ouano said.
In an interview, lawyer Francisco Amit said Ouano committed misrepresentation in his COC because the document states that he is a natural born citizen.
Amit said Ouano should reacquire his Filipino citizenship if he wants to run for mayor. He said Ouano didn’t attach to his COC his renunciation of his American citizenship. Ouano submitted only his party nomination and his drug test results.
Comelec regional director Rene Buac said in a separate interview yesterday that he will issue a summons to Ouano, who will then have to reply within 72 hours after receiving it.
Buac said that just as in petitions for the declaration of a person as a nuisance candidate, the regional office can only accept the petition and the respondent’s reply. These will then be forwarded to the Comelec main office in Manila for decision.
Zoilo’s petition states that Ouano lost his Philippine citizenship when he returned to the Philippines after becoming a United States citizen.
“The respondent nevertheless failed and refused to pursue his application to become a ‘dual’ citizen of the Philippines. He has not complied fully with the provisions of the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition law, which provides for the conditions on how a former Filipino may be able to validly run for an elective position,” Zoilo said in his petition.
According to Zoilo, Ouano failed to make a personal and sworn renunciation of his citizenship when he filed his COC.
The filing of the petition came just a few hours after Ouano called for a press conference to deny rumors that he is stepping out of the mayoral race to give way to his grandfather, former mayor Alfredo Ouano.
At the press conference, he said that the rumor was circulated by political rivals who want to demoralize his supporters.
Ouano said he is confident on the solidarity of his slate, adding that his rivals have an ally who junked partymates in the past elections.
He refused to identify the candidate, though.
“So what is it with their Team Honesty? They are not even honest to themselves,” he said.
Jonas refused to comment on the matter.
Ouano’s father, Mayor Thadeo Ouano, also faced a disqualification petition in 1998 over questions on his residency.
Thadeo ran for mayor in 1998 against Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, who was then his fiercest political rival.
Ruiz had asked the Comelec to disqualify Thadeo from assuming the mayoralty post because of his failure to satisfy the one-year residency rule.
Teddy was allegedly still a United States green card holder when he filed his COC.
The card, which signifies that he is a permanent resident alien in the US, was surrendered only to the US embassy on June 27, 1997, less than one year from the May 12, 1998 polls when he was elected as mayor.
Comelec dismissed the case for lack of merit in December 1998.
Thadeo, who is currently under preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman, is now a partymate of Ruiz in One Cebu and Kampi.
Source: SunStar
Sige Teddy paspasi ug bugsay ha!
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