By Ferdinand Patinio
MANILA – The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) Task Force on Safeguarding Against Fear and Exclusion in Elections (SAFE) on Wednesday filed a motu proprio petition for disqualification against Pasig City congressional candidate Christian Sia.
In the petition filed before the Clerk of the Commission, task force head Sonia Bea Wee-Lozada sought Sia’s disqualification for violating Comelec Resolution 11116, or the Anti-Discriminatory and Fair Campaigning Guidelines, for this year’s midterm elections over his lewd remarks against single mothers.
Sia, in an April 3 campaign sortie, said he is willing to sleep with single mothers who are still menstruating and are lonely once a year if he is elected.
Ordered by the task force to explain the incident, Sia invoked his freedom of speech for making the remarks.
“Aside from the disqualification, we also prayed, in case the petition has remained undecided or unresolved by the time the election was over and the respondent have won, the suspension of proclamation,” Lozada added.
Asked if there would be more petitions to be filed, she said “none as of yet.”
“We are still studying the same.There could be more but at this point, it’s still hard to say as we are still waiting for the answers. Studying the answers by the recipients of show cause orders,” she added.
Aside from Sia, other candidates have been issued show cause orders – Peter Unaba, who is seeking to be reelected as Misamis Oriental governor; Batangas gubernatorial candidate Jay Ilagan; Davao de Oro 2nd District Rep. Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, who is looking to be elected as provincial governor; Silang, Cavite mayoral candidate Alston Kevin Anarna; Virgilo Bote, gubernatorial candidate in Nueva Ecija; and Pasay City mayoral candidate Editha Manguera. (PNA)
