By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Commission on Elections Second Division denied a petition seeking to void the certificate of candidacy for Toboso mayoral bet Evello Muñez Valencia, Jr., who was unable to unseat incumbent Mayor Richard Jaojoco in last month’s election, losing 12,581 votes to 9,814.
In a resolution signed by Commissioner Luie Tito Guia last month, the petition, which claimed Valencia was an American citizen and ineligible to run, was denied due to a “lack of merit.”
The petition claimed, when Valencia served as mayor in 2004, he used a US passport on two occasions and continued to use it while serving as vice mayor./DGB, WDJ