The Supreme Court has directed President Rodrigo Duterte to comment on a quo warranto petition filed against him for his alleged invalid Certificate of Candidacy in 2016 presidential election.
In a resolution, the SC gave Duterte 10 days within which to file his answer to the petition filed by lawyer Elly Velez Pamatong, a controversial former nuisance presidential bet.
Pamatong suit came after the Supreme Court made a ruling that impeachable officers, including the President, could be the subject of a quo warranto action.
The petitioner accused Duterte of being an illegitimate president on the basis of a COC, which was not approved by the Commission on Elections.
However, the Comelec en banc had accepted Duterte’s candidacy as a substitute for then presidential candidate Martin Diño of the PDP-Laban, who is now undersecretary at the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Duterte won the presidential election with over 16 million votes.
Under the Rules of Court, the only persons allowed to bring a petition for quo warranto are the Solicitor General, public prosecutors, and a person claiming entitlement to an allegedly usurped position.
Last May 11, the Supreme Court granted the quo warranto petition against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, removing her as top magistrate after finding her of violating the Constitution for not submitting the required 10-year Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth when she applied for the top judicial post in 2012.
In seeking the disqualification of Duterte, Pamatong argued that Duterte is not a legitimate president because he “failed to obtain a Comelec-approved COC when he ran for the presidency.”
“If at all, Duterte is a usurper using his usurped powers to commit mass murder and violate any law to suit his interest,” he stressed.
Pamatong was previously suspended by the Supreme Court from law practice for “slanderous” language against a judge. He also earned notoriety for scattering spikes or caltrops on Roxas Boulevard in 2004. He also admitted to partial responsibility for a set of explosives found at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 2014.