TARLAKENYO (Nov. 4, 2025) – The Supreme Court (SC) has intervened in the electoral dispute surrounding the mayor of Tarlac City, issuing an order that temporarily allows Mayor Susan Yap to remain in her position.
In a session on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, the High Court’s en banc issued a status quo ante order in response to a petition filed by Yap. This order effectively puts on hold a recent ruling from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) that had disqualified her from office.
The legal battle stems from a petition filed by rivals Amado de Leon and Jay-Ar Navarro, who challenged Yap’s eligibility to run in the 2025 elections. They argued that she had not been a resident of Tarlac City for at least one year before the polls, a requirement for candidacy.
De Leon is a retired politician, and Navarro is the Brgy. Tibag, Tarlac City, Chairman. Both are known allies of former city mayor and now congresswoman Cristy Angeles. Cristy’s husband, Victor, ran — and lost — to Yap in the last election.
The case took a winding path through the election body. Initially, the COMELEC’s Second Division dismissed the disqualification case, permitting Yap to run. She subsequently won the election and was proclaimed the Mayor of Tarlac City.
However, in a surprising reversal on Oct. 22, 2025, the COMELEC en banc overturned the Second Division’s decision and ordered her disqualification. Yap has been a voter of Brgy. Tibag, Tarlac City, in the past three national and local elections.
Mayor Yap then elevated the case to the Supreme Court, filing a petition for certiorari to nullify the COMELEC’s disqualification order. She urgently sought a temporary restraining order or a status quo ante order to prevent her removal from office while the high court reviews the case.
Granting her plea, the Supreme Court’s status quo ante order mandates that the situation as it existed before the COMELEC en banc’s October 22 ruling be maintained. This means Yap can continue to serve as mayor while the Supreme Court deliberates on the merits of her petition.
The Court has also directed the COMELEC and the other respondents to file their comments on Yap’s petition within a non-extendible period of ten days.
