THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday accepted the presidential candidacy of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in the May 2016 national elections. Voting 6-1, the Comelec en banc acknowledged the certificate of candidacy filed by Duterte in Nov. 27, substituting for Martin Dino as the standard-bearer of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). With this, Comelec chairman Juan Andres Bautista said the name of Duterte will be included in the list of presidential candidates for next year’s polls. However, the poll body chief said the en banc’s decision was without prejudice to the pending disqualification case filed against the presidential aspirant by broadcaster Ruben Castor before the Comelec’s First Division. Castor claimed the mayor is not a qualified substitute for Dino as they do not belong to the same political party.