PDP Laban Presidential bet DIÑO WITHDRAWS COC; ASKS DUTERTE TO RUN

PDP Laban Presidential bet
DIÑO WITHDRAWS COC;
ASKS DUTERTE TO RUN

By Manny Piñol

PDP Laban presidential candidate Martin Diño today announced his withdrawal from the 2016 presidential elections and asked party mate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte to run in his stead.
Diño, the deputy secretary general of PDP Laban, made the move on the advise of his lawyers following a petition filed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) legal office to declare him a nuisance candidate.
The Comelec Law Department earlier asked the Commission En Banc to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Diño saying that he was only a "stand-in" candidate for Duterte who did not file his COC for president last Oct. 16.
The petition also belittled Diño's capacity to undertake a national campaign for President.
PDP Laban national chairman Ismael Sueno, former governor of South Cotabato, said Diño decided to withdraw his COC today to pave the way for Duterte who has earlier announced that he would yield to the decision of his national party.
Duterte filed a COC for Mayor of Davao City on Oct. 15 in spite of the national call for him to run for President.
He stood firm on his decision not to run for President until the next few days after the deadline for the filing when he was flooded with desperate calls from different sectors to reconsider his decision not to vie for the highest political position in the country.
Duterte, who was in Manila two days after the Oct. 16 deadline, told reporters who interviewed him that he would abide by his party's decision.
On Monday, the PDP Laban passed two resolutions.
The first resolution affirmed the party's support for Diño while the second resolution stated that should Diño decide to withdraw from the race, the party was "compelling" Duterte to run as substitute.
Sueno said with Diño out of the race, the party has until Dec. 10 to fill in the void in its Presidential slot.

(Photo shows Martin Diño in yellow shirt with the national officers of PDP Laban. Jorge Lucana photo)

COMELEC to conduct plebiscite for the creation of Davao Occidental

Voters to say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

The Commission on Elections is set to hold a plebiscite for the creation of the new Province of Davao Occidental, simultaneous with the October 28, 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

On July 23, 2013, Congress enacted Republic Act 10360 or an “Act Creating the Province of Davao Occidental.” Carved out from the present Davao del Sur, the new province consists of the Municipalities of Sta. Maria, Malita, Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos and Sarangani.

In RA 10360, the COMELEC was mandated to supervise the conduct of a plebiscite for the approval of the creation of Davao Occidental by the majority of the votes cast by voters in the affected areas, within sixty (60) days after the Act becomes effective.

However, the COMELEC on November 27, 2012, suspended the conduct of all plebiscite as a matter of policy in view of the preparations for the May 13, 2013 National and Local Elections. The policy of deferment was later extended by the COMELEC on July 9, 2013.

The poll body in a meeting held on July 31, 2013, then decided to hold the plebiscite for the creation of Davao Occidental simultaneous with the October 28, 2013 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

According to the COMELEC, five (5) out of the eight (8) municipalities in the 2nd Legislative District of Davao del Sur shall compose the new Province of Davao Occidental, once approved in a plebiscite.

The registered voters of Davao del Sur, excluding Davao City, shall participate in the said plebiscite. As of the May 13, 2013 National and Local Elections, Davao del Sur, excluding Davao City, has 523,862 total number of registered voters, the poll body furthered.

Voters in Davao del Sur shall use a different ballot in the October 28, 2013 Barangay and SK Elections as it would also include voting for the plebiscite. The COMELEC shall be printing special ballots for the purpose.


source: MyCOMELEC.tv