MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections has disqualified dismissed former Albay governor Noel Rosal from seeking to reclaim his old post in the 2025 elections.

“Being dismissed from service, [Rosal] is disqualified under Section 40 (b) of the LGC, which disqualifies any person running for a local elective post who was removed from office as a result of an administrative case,” the poll body wrote in a decision dated Friday, December 27.

A registered voter of Legazpi City, Josefino Valenzuela Dioquino, had filed a petition with the Comelec against Rosal’s candidacy on October 10, noting that the former Albay governor had already been dismissed from public service by the Office of the Ombudsman earlier this year.

Rosal was found guilty of grave misconduct and oppression and two counts of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service by the Ombudsman after he effectively demoted personnel without justification. News of the Ombudsman’s decision made headlines on September 5, a month before the poll body started accepting certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2025 elections.

Rosal filed his COC on October 3 with his wife, Geraldine Rosal, who is running for mayor of Legazpi City.

Both are hounded by controversies. Despite winning in their respective local races in 2022, both wins were nullified by the Comelec: Noel was disqualified for violating the election spending ban, while Geraldine had been suspended for vote-buying.

The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the poll body’s orders that barred former governor Rosal, Mandaue Mayor Jonas Cortes, and Cebu City Mayor Michael Roma from running in the 2025 polls in the wake of their dismissals by the Ombudsman.

However, in the December 27 decision, Comelec noted that “legal and factual basis exists for the Commission (Second Division) to give due course to the instant Petition.”

Instead of outright banning or denying Rosal from entering the gubernatorial race, the poll body noted that the petition filed could be treated as disqualification.

“Considering the ultimate facts and nature of the allegations in the Petition, which cite an Ombudsman Joint Resolution finding Respondent guilty of administrative offenses and imposing the penalty of dismissal from service, these allegations align more closely with grounds for disqualification rather than cancellation of COC, as there are no explicit allegations of material misrepresentation,” Comelec said.

Rosal was supposed to go head-to-head with former governor and current Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda for the gubernatorial post. – Kaycee Valmonte/Rappler.com