Mitra disqualified from running as Palawan governor

Palawan Second District Representative Abraham Khalil Mitra has been disqualified from running for governor in the same province, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division announced on Wednesday. Mitra, a Liberal Party bet, is accused of violating the Local Government Code for failing to establish at least one year of residency in the province before the May polls, the poll body said. His failure to comply with the residency requirement made him unqualified to to run for office in the province, said the Comelec, which granted a petition that sought cancellation of Mitra’s certificate of candidacy. The lawmaker used to be a resident of Puerto Princesa, which ceased to be a component city of Palawan in 2007. In 2009, he requested for a transfer of his records from Puerto Princesa to Aborlan, Palawan where he supposedly has a farm, a farmhouse, and a cockfarm. But the Comelec First Division said that Mitra could not prove that he really was an Aborlan resident. Earlier, election lawyer Sixto Brillantes alerted the Comelec that a draft of the poll body decision disqualifying Mitra had already been circulated in Palawan. He said his client expressed "apprehension and deep concern" because of "probable irregularities" regarding the said case. However, Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, who is a member of the First Division, said that he has seen a copy of the alleged decision and said that it looks different. Larrazabal said that the Commission is already investigating the matter but they would still like to know how Brillantes obtained a copy of the draft. "I would like to ask Atty. Brillantes how he got a copy and who gave Cong. Mitra a copy of that one," he said. Larrazabal also said that whatever is written on the said document would not affect their decision. "Rest assured when we decide on cases we decide on merits," he said. If appealed, the decision can still be overturned by the Comelec en banc and the Supreme Court. - GMANews.TV