THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has affirmed the validity of the successful candidacy of Sen. Raffy Tulfo during the May 2022 polls.
This after the Commission en banc affirmed an earlier ruling of its First Division dismissing the petition to disqualify Tulfo filed by one Julieta Licup Pearson.
“After a careful review of the records, the Commission en banc finds no cogent reason to reverse and set aside the ruling of the Commission (First Division) dismissing the petition,” said the Comelec in its decision promulgated on Tuesday.
“Without any valid ground for the reversal of the assailed Order, the motion should be dismissed,” it said.
The poll body noted how it was established that the motion “neither argues that the evidence on record is insufficient to justify the assailed Order nor that the ruling arrived upon by the Commission (First Division) is contrary to law”.
“Petitioner merely re-submitted the petition in the form of the amended petition,” it said.
In addition, the Comelec said it no longer has jurisdiction over a disqualification case against Tulfo as he has been proclaimed and is now a sitting member of the Senate.
“The Senate Electoral Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction over all election contests relating to the members of the Senate,” said the Comelec.
To recall, Pearson had filed a petition to disqualify Tulfo for senator due to alleged material misrepresentation.
According to Pearson, she is the legal wife of Tulfo and not Jocelyn Pua Tulfo, whom the candidate declared as his spouse in his Certificate of Candidacy.
Subsequently, the Comelec First Division dismissed the case against Tulfo.
During the May 2022 polls, Tulfo placed third in the Senate race after getting 23,488,450 votes.
