MANILA, Philippines — The disqualification case filed against Makati Councilor Dennis Almario is up for resolution by the Commission on Elections.
Comelec spokesman Rex Laudiangco told The STAR that the petition for Almario’s disqualification “was elevated to the en banc pending resolution.”
Makati resident Gaudencio Babasa Jr. filed a disqualification case amid supposed records of Almario’s burglary and drug convictions in 2000 and 2004, found in the New Jersey Judiciary online database.
The Comelec First Division dismissed the petition and sided with Almario, saying the petitioner only presented screenshots of the online database without authentication.
“There is no further proof that the Dennis Almario convicted by the New Jersey court was the respondent, considering the possibility of two or more persons bearing the same name and last name,” the Comelec decision noted.
Babasa has filed a motion for reconsideration, insisting that the database records are “self-authenticating” and Almario’s details in the database align with those listed on his certificate of candidacy.
Babasa argued that the document presented is public being in the US court records and therefore “does not need to be authenticated.”
In response to the allegations, Almario was mum about his convictions. He assailed the petition for lack of proper authentication and for conflating the laws of the Philippines and the United States.
Almario is running for congressman in Makati’s second district in the midterm elections in May.