COTABATO CITY - The candidacy of Sultan Kudarat gubernatorial aspirant Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu remains valid. On Friday, the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which earlier canceled Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy (COC) for allegedly failing to meet the one-year residency requirement. Copies of the TRO were shared with members of the local media Friday night. "Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu's candidacy remains valid, legal, and legitimate," Mangudadatu's lawyer, Cyrus Torrena, said in an interview Saturday. Datu Pax Ali is running to succeed his father, Governor Suharto Mangudadatu, and will be up against Sharifa Akeel, the wife of his uncle, Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu. Suharto and Esmael are cousins. Akeel and two others sought Mangudadatu's disqualification, claiming false material representation in his COC. They said the gubernatorial bet indicated he is a resident of Lutayan t