The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) First Division revoked Bugasong town Mayor John Lloyd Pacete’s Certificate of Candidacy (COC) for the 2025 elections, ruling that he violated the three-term limit for local officials.
In its 15-page decision, the poll body emphasized that Section 8, Article X of the Constitution strictly limits an elective local government official to only three consecutive terms.
The ruling followed a petition from mayoral candidate and Antique Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Victor Condez, who accused Pacete of misrepresenting information in his COC.
Condez’s petition established, and Pacete admitted, that voters elected him mayor for three consecutive terms in 2016, 2019, and 2022, disqualifying him from seeking re-election under the term limit rule.
Pacete argued that the COMELEC should re-evaluate his eligibility, claiming that the Regional Trial Court of Bugasong had interrupted his second term when it convicted him in 2019 for violating the Omnibus Election Code. This conviction led to his temporary incarceration while his appeal was pending.
He argued that this interruption exempted him from the three-term limit rule.
However, the COMELEC rejected his defense, clarifying that his incarceration did not count as an interruption of his term.
Despite his temporary confinement, Pacete stayed in office and exercised full political rights, serving his term without interruption until the Court of Appeals acquitted him.
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.