Response: Guilty verdict does not disqualify Escalante from holding office
By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Manuel Laurel Garganera III, who unsuccessfully ran for Cadiz City mayor in last month’s midterm elections, recently sent a letter to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to question the candidacy of Cadiz City Mayor-elect Salvador Escalante, Jr. and called for the latter’s election to be nullified.
In a letter dated June 1, the mayoral aspirant claimed Escalante presented false information on his certificate of candidacy by “deliberately withholding information” regarding a guilty verdict handed down against the outgoing provincial board member following the 2012 Court of Appeals case of Leonilo Hulleza vs. Escalante.
He cited the court decision, which stated: “We find Escalante guilty of abuse of authority in the performance of his function beyond the contemplation of law by issuing the ‘floating status memorandum,’ which amounted to the constructive dismissal of Hulleza.”
The decision was later appealed but was then affirmed by the Supreme Court in February 2013.
Garganera noted the penalty was never imposed since, at the time of the decision, Escalante was no longer serving as mayor; however, he pointed out, “His conviction remains.”
In response, Escalante’s legal counsel, Atty. Reggie Placido, argued, “Nowhere in the dispositive portion of the decision does it state that Salvador Escalante is ineligible to run for a public position nor disqualified to hold public office.”
Escalante won the mayoral election in a field of four candidates, garnering 36,021 votes to second place candidate Ray Yee, who picked up 17,065 votes.
The mayor-elect succeeds his brother, outgoing Cadiz City Mayor Patrick Escalante./DGB, WDJ