SC unseats Lanao del Norte mayor over US passport

The Supreme Court unseated the incumbent mayor of Lanao del Norte for his continued used of his American passport, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Voting 10-5, lawyer Theodore Te said the the SC en banc at the same time declared the rival of Kauswagan mayor Rommel Arnado,  Casan Maquilin, as the duly elected local chief executive of the town during the May 2010 polls.

The High Court has disqualifed Arnado from running for any local elective position in future polls, Te added.

"The SC held that Arnado's continued use of his US passport even after he renounced his US citizenship amounts to a recantation of his Oath of Renunciation thus disqualifying him as a candidate for the post of mayor," Te said.