A judge of the Caloocan City Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) has granted the petition of Mayor Enrico "Recom" Echiverri seeking to exclude former congressman Luis "Baby" Asistio from the list of qualified voters for stating a non-existent address.

Earlier, Echiverri has filed the exclusion case against Asistio, saying that the latter is not a resident of 123 Interior P. Zamora Street Barangay 15, Caloocan City, which he stated when he filed his certificate of candidacy for city mayor.

In a 14-page decision, Judge Arman Malabaguio of MTC Branch 52 directed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to delist the name of the former congressman from the roster of qualified voters in the city.

The camp of Asistio quickly criticized the decision, saying that its lawyers will appeal the decision of the MTC to the higher court.

"The case is appealable, which we will promptly do, because we believe that some of our merits were not appreciated," Cenon Mayor, a political adviser of Asistio, said.

In his decision, the judge refused to give credence to the testimony of an Asistio witness attesting that the former congressman is a resident of the stated address.

The exclusion of Asistio's name from the list of voters could pave the way for his disqualification as a mayoral candidate of Caloocan City, observers said.

Echiverri said the barangay captain in the area, Enrique Santos, has confirmed to him that the said address is not located in his jurisdiction.

Echiverri, official candidate of the Liberal Party (LP), and Asistio who is backed by a coalition of local parties in the city will slug it out in a one-one contest for the mayoral post in the coming elections.

Asistio also ran in the 2007 elections but lost to Echiverri while the city mayor will aim to win his third and final mayoralty term.

Observers said Asistio will bank his candidacy on the support of a coalition of political groups in the city while Echiverri will depend his reelection on his performance and achievements.