COMELEC en banc dismisses case vs Oñate

TACLOBAN CITY — The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) dismissed a petition seeking to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of former Palompon, Leyte Mayor Ramon Oñate nine months after the May 2025 election.

In an en banc resolution dated 10 February 2026, COMELEC said petitioner Lloyd Surigao failed to comply with mandatory requirements for the petition to proceed. Oñate received a copy of the decision on Saturday, 28 February 2026.

Surigao alleged that Oñate and four reelection-seeking members of the Sangguniang Bayan made material misrepresentations by indicating “N/A” in their COCs when asked to disclose pending cases or legal actions filed against them.

The petitioner cited an Ombudsman ruling that imposed cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from government employment, which was then appealed at the Court of Appeals. Surigao argued that Oñate and his co-respondents misled the public and compromised the integrity of the election process.

COMELEC said Surigao did not follow basic filing rules, including submitting the petition to the wrong office and failing to provide proof of payment. The commission noted that under COMELEC Resolution No. 11046, petitions must be filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission (OCOC) and not the Office of the Chairman.

The petition also lacked proof of payment for the P10,000 filing fee and the P1,000 legal research fee, “a jurisdictional requirement and non-compliance is a valid basis for the dismissal of the case,” the commission said.

Despite the petition, Oñate and the four town councilors remained candidates in the May 2025 election. Oñate also campaigned for his daughter Mary Dominique Oñate, who won the mayoralty over former mayor Georgina Arevalo. Surigao, running as vice mayor alongside Arevalo, lost in the same election.