House bet’s candidacy questioned

The candidacy of a nominee for the House of Representatives hangs in the balance, with the Commonwealth Election Commission maintaining that she could not run for office in the Nov. 5 election because she failed to vote in the last election.

This came as the Board of Election certified yesterday all the 105 petitions for candidacy filed with the Election Commission as of the Aug.8 deadline.

Despite a question about her eligibility, Rose Nelly T. Ada-Hocog was included among those whose nominations were certified, on the condition that she submits an affidavit—executed under penalty of perjury—that she meets all the candidacy requirements.

Ada-Hocog, however, refused to sign such an affidavit, according to CEC executive director Gregorio Sablan. As a result, the election commissioners will have to re-convene next week to reject or otherwise decide on Ada-Hocog’s application.

Ada-Hocog, a Covenant Party candidate for representative in the 1st election district, appeared before the election commissioners yesterday morning to plead her case.

Although admitting that she did not exercise her right to vote in the November 2003 elections, Ada-Hocog said she met all the requirements for candidates for the House of Representatives, particularly those relating to age and residency.

Sablan maintained, however, that her name was removed in the election register when she failed to vote in the previous election; hence, she could not be allowed to run for office.

A candidate for the House of Representatives must be a resident and registered voter in the election district he or she seeks to represent, among other requirements.

Ada-Hocog, with the help of attorney Matthew Gregory and Covenant Party chair Martin Manglona, asked for the commissioners’ consideration. Ada-Hocog, who had quit her position with the Department of Public Safety to focus on her candidacy, said she wanted to serve the public by securing a seat in the Legislature.

“Maybe she will be a good lawmaker. She just needs your consideration,” Manglona told the commissioners.

For his part, Gregory maintained that Ada-Hocog’s case was different from that of Raymond Palacios, a Democratic Party member whose candidacy for the House of Representatives had been rejected by the Election Commission. It had been found that Palacios was not registered to vote in the election district he wished to represent.

Unlike Palacios, Ada-Hocog has been a resident and registered voter in the 1st election district, where she is running for office.

Because of uncertainty in the status of Ada-Hocog’s candidacy, the Election Commission postponed yesterday the drawing of names of Election District 1 candidates to determine their position on the ballot.

Besides Ada-Hocog, there are 16 other candidates seeking one of the 6 available House seats for the 1st election district.

Sablan said they would have to wait until after Ada-Hocog’s issue had been cleared up before a drawing could be conducted to determine how their names would appear on the ballot.

Those candidates included in yesterday’s drawing are expected to receive specimen ballots they can use to educate their supporters in the next few days.

Candidates for the 1st election district, however, will have to wait until mid-September for their specimen ballots.