CEBU CITY — A new disqualification petition has been filed against ousted Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, challenging his re-election bid in the next 2025 polls.

The petition, the second filed against the mayor, was filed by lawyer Ervin Estandarte on October 25 and received by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on October 28. The cancellation of Cortes’ Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) is sought for alleged material misrepresentation.

Estandarte, a resident of Barangay Pagsabungan, claims that Cortes’ CoC misrepresented his eligibility to run by marking “Not Applicable” when asked about any existing cases or disqualification orders.

Estandarte claims that this omission misleads the Comelec by not disclosing Cortes’ removal from office by the Ombudsman on October 3 for misconduct related to unlicensed operations in Mandaue.

He claims this omission violates Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code and Section 40(B) of the Local Government Code, both of which address material misrepresentation.

“Such entry N/A is a material representation of respondent’s COC as he was well aware that he was dismissed from service,” a portion of his petition reads.

This latest petition followed the first petition previously filed by Barangay Labogon residents Ines Corbo Necessario and Julita Oporto Narte accusing Cortes of material misrepresentation.

On October 6, Cortes filed his CoC for re-election. Three days later, he filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging Comelec Resolution 1104-A, which sought to nullify his candidacy.

The Supreme Court granted Cortes and Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama a temporary restraining order on October 21 preventing the Comelec from disqualifying them. Rama was dismissed for allegedly employing two of his brothers-in-law in the city administration.

As of press time, Cortes has yet to issue a statement regarding the petitions filed against him.