The Commission on Election (Comelec) en banc is still verifying if there is a filed petition for declaring “failure of elections” in Cotabato City.
In a press conference on Thursday in Pasay City, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiagco said every filed petition will go through the proper process.
“We will be confirming with the clerk of the commission if indeed the petition was filed,” he said.
Upon receiving similar petitions, Laudiangco explained processes should be followed under Comelec’s rules of procedures that are exploratorily applicable to the rules of the court.
“If there are these kinds of situations, we welcome that so that we could investigate, we could hear — the case based on evidence, and most importantly our commission en banc will decide on the merits,” he said, when asked for comment about the election situation in the city.
Laudiangco urged the petitioners to bring their complaints into a proper forum instead of staging rallies that may agitate untoward incidents.
“Pumasok po tayo sa proseso, puntahan po natin ang tamang forum para ma-ventilate yung mga issues na ganito (Let’s go to the proper forum so that issues like these will be ventilated),” he said.
The Comelec has declared a failure of elections in 14 villages in Lanao del Sur due to election-related violence that hampered residents to cast their votes.