Provincial supervisor Jessie Suarez of the Commission on Elections yesterday said he is summoning the four candidates whose disqualifications are being sought to hearings to air their positions before he forwards evidence presented to the COMELEC Legal Department for action.

The legitimacy of one's bid to run will be based on a candidate's capacity to launch a credible campaign, Suarez said.

Among those who are the subject of petitions for disqualification are candidates for mayor Evello Valencia (NPC) in Toboso, Crisanto Mondia (Independent) in Pulupandan and Alice Gatuslao (Independent) in Himamaylan, and vice mayoralty bet Willymer Perez (Independent) in Cauayan.

Mayoralty candidate Albino de la Cruz (Lakas NUCD) is seeking the disqualification of his opponent, Valencia, for allegedly being an American citizen. Valencia, on the other hand, insists he has renounced his US citizenship before a judge.

In Pulupandan, mayoralty candidate Samson Mondia (KAMPI) is seeking the disqualification of Crisanto Mondia, a former barangay captain, and in Himamaylan Alain Gatuslao is seeking the disqualification of his cousin, Alice, for being alleged nuisance bets. Alain is the son of Tony Gatuslao who is the brother of Hernan Gatuslao, father of Alice.

The Gatuslao cousins are running for mayor of Himamaylan against their aunt, incumbent mayor Carminia Bascon (KAMPI).

Precy Perez (Liberal Party), an engineer who is running for vice mayor of Cauayan, is seeking the disqualification of Willymer Perez, a trisikad driver.

If two candidates running for the same position have the same first or last names and a voter writes down only their surname or first name on the ballot the vote will not go to any of the two candidates, it will be invalidated, Suarez said.

For example if a voter writes Gatuslao for the mayoralty candidate of Himamaylan it will not be credited to either Alice or Alain, he said.

He said the respondents from Cauayan and Himamaylan have been directed to appear before the COMELEC tomorrow morning.

Suarez said he served the summons for Crisanto Mondia yesterday and will serve that for Valencia today.

He said he will also forward the complaint lodged against Murcia Mayor Esteban Coscolluela to the COMELEC Legal Department for his alleged violation of campaign rules for airing a video of his interview on an "assassination plot" against him.

Meanwhile, Suarez also said he met with the Pulupandan police yesterday to discuss concerns raised by mayoralty candidate Magdaleno Peña but refused to give details. Judge Manuel Limsiaco of the 4th Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Valladolid-San Enrique-Pulupandan yesterday heard a petition of Peña for a writ of execution of an order to evict 93 residents of Pulupandan from property of Peña and his family.

Included in Limsiaco's orders to vacate are Pulupandan Vice Mayor Julia Seminio (Lakas CMD) and four candidates for town councilor.*CPG

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