Asistio can run for mayor in Caloocan — SC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday removed all legal hindrances in the mayoralty bid of former Caloocan City Rep. Luis “Baby" Asistio when it granted his petition to stop a local court from implementing an order excluding him from the voters’ list. The case stemmed from a petition filed by Asistio's rival, re-electionist Mayor Enrico Echiverri, seeking to exclude him from the list of voters on the ground that he is not a resident of Caloocan City. But in a 14-page decision, the court held that Asistio has always been a resident of Caloocan City since his birth, and that his family is known to be among the prominent political families in Caloocan City. “Taking these circumstances into consideration, Asistio has qualified, and continues to qualify, as a voter of Caloocan City. There is no showing that he has established domicile elsewhere, or that he had consciously and voluntarily abandoned his residence in Caloocan City," a portion of the resolution read. The SC resolution made Asistio eligible to run for public office. Asistio brought his case to the Supreme Court after the Caloocan Regional Trial Court dismissed his appeal to reverse the Caloocan Metropolitan Trial Court order for the removal of his name from the local voters’ list. The Caloocan RTC dismissed Asistio’s petition because he paid the filing fees a day late. The Philippines will have its first ever nationwide automated elections on May 10. - KBK, GMANews.TV