THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday hinted at the possibility that the second disqualification case filed against leading senatorial bet, Rep. Erwin Tulfo, will also be dismissed.
Tulfo is running for a Senate seat under the banner of the administration’s “Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas” slate.
In an interview, Elections chairman George Garcia said “defects” were supposedly found in the disqualification petition filed by the Graft-Free Philippines Foundation and Berteni Causing in late February.
“There have been defects found in the second petition (against Tulfo),” said Garcia.
The petition was raffled off to the Comelec First Division.
“We can expect that by next week, we could have a disposition from the Comelec First Division,” Garcia said.
In their petition, Graft-Free Philippines Foundation and Berteni Causing said Tulfo should be disqualified as he is part of a looming political dynasty in the Senate, with the presence of his brother, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, and another brother, Ben Tulfo who is also seeking a Senate seat.
They also said Erwin Tulfo should be disqualified as he is a citizen of the United States of America and is not a Filipino, as required by the Constitution.
They also cited Erwin Tulfo’s conviction of four counts of libel, which have been deemed final by the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, the Comelec First Division junked the petition to disqualify five candidates from the Tulfo clan, saying the complaint was found as insufficient in form.
The division said petitioner lawyer Virigilio Garcia failed to attach the certificates of candidacy (COCs) of senatorial bets Erwin and Ben Tulfo, party-list nominees Jocelyn Pua-Tulfo (ACT-CIS) and Wanda Tulfo-Teo (Turismo), and reelectionist Quezon City Rep. Ralph Tulfo in his complaint.
The decision can still be appealed before the First Division, and before the Comelec en banc.
SC DECISION
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the January 6, 2025 decision of the Comelec rejecting the candidacy of Marie Grace David for vice mayor of Limay, Bataan in the May 12 elections.
In granting David’s petition, the SC en banc ruled that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion by disallowing the substitution of David even if she has fully complied with the requirements of Section 77 of the Omnibus Election Code.
The SC said David should be considered a bonafide candidate for the position of vice mayor of Limay town and “permanently prohibited” the poll body from implementing its decision that was contested by David.
Records of the case showed that on December 6, 2024, Richie Jason David withdrew his COC for vice mayor of Limay.
Following her nomination as his substitute under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Marie Grace David filed her COC and certificate of nomination and acceptance (CONA).
She also filed a petition for substitution and inclusion in the official list of candidates and ballots of the Comelec.
But the poll body rejected her substitution, ruling that she failed to file her COC and CONA within the prescribed time under Section 59 of Comelec Resolution No. 11045, which established that the deadline for substitution due to a candidate’s withdrawal was last October 8, 2024, or the last day for the filing of COCs.
The SC last January 14 initially issued a temporary restraining order in favor of David, barring the Comelec from implementing its resolution.
Meanwhile, a Makati resident yesterday urged the Comelec to rule on the disqualification case he has filed against a congressional bet in the city’s second district for allegedly failing to declare his convictions for drug pushing and burglary in the United States.
Gaudencio Babasa Jr. filed the petition before the poll body in October 2024 asking it to cancel the COC of Makati Councilor Dennis Almario, citing official records from the New Jersey Judiciary which showed Almario has been convicted of drug dealing and sentenced to five years in prison.
Babasa said Almario was also allegedly convicted of burglary and served 44 days in jail and two years of probation.
In his petition, Babasa said that “the failure to disclose conviction of crimes punishable by imprisonment of more than 18 months or classified as crimes involving moral turpitude goes into the heart of the eligibility of the candidate.”
“These are material representations which may be utilized as grounds to cancel or deny due course to a certificate of candidacy under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code,” Babasa, who filed the petition in his capacity as a taxpayer and Makati resident, said in a statement.
He added that Almario supposedly committed misrepresentation in his COC by failing to disclose the twin convictions.
In response, Almario, through his counsels, has said that the evidence presented by Babasa lacked proper authentication.
His legal team also claimed that even if the convictions were valid, the crimes do not constitute moral turpitude under Philippine laws.
In January this year, the Comelec’s First Division dismissed Babasa’s petition, stating that the documents submitted were not properly authenticated.
The poll body held that while the SC has cited in a jurisprudence that a candidate’s failure to disclose a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude constitutes false material representation, “there is no proof that Respondent (Almario) was indeed convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude” as “the evidence submitted were not properly authenticated.”
Babasa appealed the Comelec First Division’s decision on January 27, asserting that the evidence is self-authenticating under Section 19(a) of Rule 132 of the Revised Rules of Evidence, which recognizes official records from foreign tribunals as public documents.
To further establish Almario’s identity, Babasa presented additional evidence showing that the birthdate in Almario’s COC matches the birthdate of the Dennis Almario cited in the New Jersey court records.
The name of Almario’s spouse and his previous address in New Jersey, according to Babasa, also matched the details in the conviction records.
“The respondent never denied that the subject of the case files attached to the petition was him. He merely denied the authenticity of the documents,” Babasa added.
In appealing to the Comelec division to reverse its decision, Babasa also submitted a certified and apostilled Judgment of Conviction issued by the Superior Court of New Jersey.
Babasa said that with the 45-day campaign period for local candidates set to begin on March 28, there is a need for the Comelec to “rule on his motion for reconsideration” the soonest time possible.
When Almario filed his COC for representative of Makati City’s second district, he said he will focus on improving social services in the three remaining barangays of his district, as the “EMBO” barangays are already deemed part of Taguig City.
*PEACE PACTS*
Ahead of the start of the campaign period for local bets, the Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudiangco urged those running for provincial, city, and municipal posts to enter into peace covenants.
In a televised public briefing, Laudiangco said: “We are continuously encouraging the local candidates (to have peace covenants).”
He said having peace covenants would be helpful in ensuring the holding of peaceful and orderly electoral exercises.
“This can ensure that there will be fair campaigning, orderly elections, and the people will be able to freely cast their votes and are assured of being able to come home safely after the elections,” he said.
The campaign period for local bets is set to begin on March 28 and will run until May 10.
The Comelec has previously stated that it expects the campaign period to become more intense once the local campaign period begins.
Last Monday, the Comelec reported that the number of confirmed election-related violent incidents has risen to 29 since the filing of COCs in October 2024.
FIGHT VAPE, SMOKING
Several medical organizations and health advocates yesterday called on candidates to help in the fight against the ongoing epidemic of vaping and smoking, especially among the youth.
In a press conference at the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) office in Quezon City, the Sin Tax Coalition called on candidates for senators and congressmen to commit to pass bills that will help counter prevalence of vaping and smoking in the country.
“Let your campaign be a platform for raising awareness about the devastating consequences of vaping and tobacco use, and the transformative potential of health taxation and regulation of the commercial determinants of health,” it said.
“Let this election season be remembered as the turning point, where candidates and citizens came together to address one of the most pressing public health issues of our time,” it added.
The advocates urged candidates to push for policies aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations to mitigate the use of tobacco and vapes.
In addition, Sin Tax Coalition said candidates should pledge to champion the increase of excise taxes on tobacco and vape products to make them less affordable to discourage their consumption and reduce the harms they cause.
“We plan to approach the candidates individually, including senators, district and party-list representatives, so that we will know their positions,” said AJ Montesa of the Action for Economic Reforms (AER).
“We hope and are calling the attention of the candidates to prioritize public health over the industry’s interests,” he added.
According to PMA President Dr. Hector Santos, strong actions against vaping and smoking are necessary if the country is to stop the “growing epidemic” of tobacco and vape use among Filipino youth.
Otherwise, he said there will be significant rises in the absolute number of young people consuming harmful products.
“We are tired of watching the devastating health effects of tobacco and vape on our youth with no action taken by our policymakers,” said Santos.
“Let us be clear: this is a full-blown epidemic that demands immediate action from our leaders. We are calling on candidates to stand with our parents and youth now so our children don’t have to inherit a future of early, preventable deaths and illnesses,” he also said.
Aside from the PMA and AER, also present during the event were representatives of the Philippine Pediatric Society, the Philippine Academy of Pediatric Pulmonologists, the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians, the Philippine College of Chest Physicians, and Parents Against Vape. – With Ashzel Hachero
