by Miriam G. Desacada
Tacloban City–The name of Mary Dominique A. Oñate (also known as DM) will be included again in the Comelec official ballot, as one of the candidates for mayor of Palompon, Leyte for the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLEs).
This was after the Supreme Court en banc issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the Comelec from implementing its declaration of DM as a nuisance candidate and take her name off the official ballot.
With the SC’s order, under G.R. No. 277698, DM is now back on track as an official candidate for mayor of Palompon, a town managed by her father, Ramon Oñate, as its mayor for many years past.
DM was one of three personalities with whom the High Court ordered Comelec, via TROs, to be reinstated in the official ballots’ list of candidates. The other two were Marie Grace R. David, candidate for vice mayor of Limay, Bataan, and Aldrin B. Sta. Ana for mayor of Bocaue, Bulacan.
The Comelec, for its part, announced two days after the SC’s orders that it already suspended the printing of ballots, disposed six million already printed ballots, and to subsequently include the three names into the new official ballots when printing resumes, probably next week.
Another previously delisted candidate, Subair Mustapha for senator, was recently ordered re-instated by the SC into the new ballot. But the name of Chavit Singson, who had just withdrawn from the senatorial race, shall remain in the ballot’s list of candidates but the votes cast for him shall be deemed stray and not be counted, the Comelec said earlier.
A Comelec statement said: “The Comelec deems as timely the issuance of the three TROs mentioned, as the commission is currently implementing necessary changes in the Election Management System, Automated Election System (AES), Consolidated Canvassing System, and Online Voting and Counting System.” —Miriam G. Desacada