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CAGAYAN, Philippines – The two mayoral candidates in Tuguegarao City have both presented their promises and platforms in online and in-person rallies throughout the 45-day campaign period to persuade voters that they are the better choice for the city hall’s top post.
But another battle unfolded before Tuguegaraoeños in the homestretch of the campaign as incumbent Mayor Maila Ting-Que and her challenger, former mayor Jefferson Soriano, engaged in a clash of disqualification petitions.
It started on the night of Wednesday, May 7, when Soriano posted on his official Facebook page the disqualification petition document filed against Ting-Que, with the name of the petitioner purposely redacted.
Ting-Que shortly responded to the post by releasing a statement on her Facebook page on Wednesday.
She clarified that she was still an “official candidate for mayor” pending receipt from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of the official disqualification petition filed against her over an alleged abuse of state resources.
“I am still a candidate. I have not been disqualified,” the mayor said.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia confirmed on Wednesday that there was indeed a disqualification petition filed against Ting-Que, according to an Inquirer report.
The petition was said to be over Ting-Que’s alleged abuse of state resources for her campaign, which was among the claims of Soriano’s camp against the incumbent mayor.
However, the mayor said at the time that she had yet to receive any order from the poll body to respond to any petition for disqualification filed against her.
In a Facebook Live on Thursday, May 8, Ting-Que addressed the issue again, saying her camp would answer whatever allegations were thrown against her.
“You know, can I just say: they even had it on the news. It’s funny. So, it’s okay for us. There’s no problem with that. We will answer as soon as we get the official communication from Comelec. Anyway, they said that something was filed,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.
In an interview with Rappler on Friday, May 9, Comelec Cagayan said they had also not yet received a copy of the petition or any communication from the Comelec Main Office regarding the case.
Soriano’s Facebook page has consistently posted videos showing scenes of Ting-Que’s alleged use of the resources of the city government, such as government vehicles, collapsible stage, chairs, and even local government unit employees in her campaign.
Scrolling through Soriano’s page, three posts on the said allegations were made in just a span of a week from May 4 to 9.
In one of his posts, the former mayor, who is seeking a comeback, cited Section 30 of Comelec Resolution No. 11104, which pertains to Abuse of State Resources or the “misuse of government resources, whether material, human, coercive, regulatory, budgetary, media-related, or legislative, for electoral advantage.”
“My brothers and sisters, let us not allow those in power to abuse the government’s funds and resources for their own political interests,” he said in a May 4 post.
The clash intensified on the night of the last day of the campaign period, Saturday, May 10, after Soriano uploaded the alleged second disqualification petition against his rival on the same ground of abuse of state resources.
The petition sought to declare Ting-Que as disqualified, consider as stray all the votes she would garner, and suspend the proclamation in the event she gets a majority vote in the May 12 elections.
Around the same time as Soriano’s posting on Saturday, Ting-Que also shared a post of what appeared to be a disqualification petition against Soriano, filed with the Comelec.
Soriano said during his slate Team #TUGUEther’s last press conference on Saturday that he was not aware of the grounds of the disqualification case against him. Just like Ting-Que, he had yet to receive a copy of the petition document.
Rappler reached out through email to Comelec’s Office of the Clerk of the Commission, where the case was filed, as seen in the stamp on the document. No response was received as of this writing. We also reached out to the Comelec Main Office regarding the three petitions. We will update this story once they respond.
Soriano was known in Tuguegarao City for ending the Ting family’s 25-year rule in the city hall. In 2013, he defeated Ting-Que’s father, Delfin Ting, marking his first term as mayor.
In 2022, Ting-Que ran for mayor and won the tight race against Soriano by a small margin of just over 2,000 votes, bringing back the mayorship to the Tings.
Restoration vs. continuity
The local campaign in Tuguegarao City saw Ting-Que and Soriano engaging in online attacks against each other, but they also outlined their promises and plans for the city — both online and offline.
Soriano’s messaging focused on “bringing back Tuguegarao City to its former glory,” with the promise of restoring projects during his past administration, which he detailed in his “Ibalik Natin” (Let’s Bring it Back) series on his social media page.
This included “bringing back the light to the city” by fixing the damaged streetlights — one of the centerpieces of his campaign narrative in both online and in-person rallies.
Ting-Que, meanwhile, had the same series of posts on her “MaiVision and MaiMission” for the city. She focused her messaging on continuing the “bagong daan.”
Her promises included stronger support for education, sports, youth empowerment, and social services, as well as her vision of a “smart city,” presenting bold infrastructure plans for Tuguegarao.
On why this election matters, John Michael Pattugalan, a political science graduate of Cagayan State University, said the feud between the Marcos and Duterte camps at the national level “put the spotlight” on the local races during the midterm polls.
“The political dynamics at the national level between the two warring factions occupying [the] highest positions in the government has put the spotlight of political interest at the local level because the people’s only hope for a way forward is having better local leaders that will step up for their interests as an alternative to the national leaders who failed to represent their cause,” said Pattugalan, who is also teaching public administration in the same university. – Rappler.com
Roland Andam Jr. is a BS Accountancy student and campus journalist from Cagayan State University-Andrews Campus. The editor in chief of The CSU Communicator, he is an Aries Rufo Fellowship candidate from April-May 2025.
