In a press briefing, Comelec chairman Andres Bautista said the Comelec's full bench (en banc), voting 6-1, ''resolved to acknowledge and accept the COC for president of Rodrigo Duterte, being a ministerial function of the commission.''
Bautista clarified that the resolution ''is entirely without prejudice to the pending disqualification case'' filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor.
Castor earlier petitioned the Comelec to nullify Diño's COC and render Duterte's substitution for the latter invalid.
Castor argued that Duterte cannot substitute for Diño, PDP-Laban's erstwhile presidential bet, because he wrote in his COC for president that he is running for the position of Pasay City mayor.
The Comelec's first division is set to conduct a hearing on Castor's petition tomorrow, December 18.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
