THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday disqualified General Luna town Mayor Matt Erwin Florido from the congressional race in the third district of Quezon province for committing vote buying buying ahead of the May 12 polls.
In its 11-page resolution, the Comelec First Division ruled in favor of the petition filed by the group of Jan Raphael Pasillao, which alleged that Florido bought votes by giving free meals, drinks, transportation, t-shirts, and P1000 cash to attendees of a gathering last April 5 and 6.
“In sum, the Commission (First Division) finds, by substantial evidence, that respondent committed vote-buying meriting his disqualification under Section 68(a) of OEC,” said the first division said.
“Accordingly, the Commission (First Division) grants the Petition to Disqualify Respondent Matt Erwin V. Florido as a candidate for the position of Member, House of Representatives, Third District, Quezon Province for the May 12, 2025 National and Local Elections,” it furthered.
The panel said Florido failed to prove his statement that the provisions were given to the petitioners because they were supposedly his campaign staff and volunteers.
“Considering that petitioners are not volunteers of respondent, the claim that the red t-shirt is a uniform and that the P1000 bill is a cash advance necessarily fails,” said the Comelec panel said.
It added that sufficient proof were also submitted by the petitioners that Florido was aware of the distribution of money to the attendees.
“Respondent’s knowledge and tacit consent of the distribution of the material consideration are very apparent by his presence and active participation before (his campaign speech) and (shaking the hands and taking photographs with the petitioners) after the distribution,” it said.
Florido can still appeal his disqualification with Comelec en banc.
In an interview, Comelec chairman George Garcia said the ruling is clear proof that the poll body is not satisfied with merely issuing show cause orders (SCOs).
“There will be more candidates, who will face disqualification,” Garcia said.
Meanwhile, a 14-page petition for disqualification was filed against Masbate Rep. Richard Kho (candidate for governor); Esperanza, Masbate Mayor Fernando Talisic (candidate for vice governor); Masbate Vice Governor Elisa Kho (candidate for congressman in the second district); and Masbate Rep. Olga Kho (candidate for mayor in Masbate City).
According to petitioner, Masbate vice gubernatorial bet Ruperto Gadia, the four candidates should be disqualified for committing abuse of state resources (ASR) when they illegally promoted their candidacies using the Emergency Cell Broadcast System (ECBS) or the emergency alert system being sent via mobile phones.
“As earlier enunciated not only the false alerts breached the afore-stated provision of law, it also transgressed on the prohibitions under Section 30, Article III, of Comelec Resolution No. 11104 on abuse of state resources (ASR) during elections,” Gadia said.
“The use by the respondents on 03 April 2025 of the ECBS is a violation of Section 30, Article III, of Comelec Resolution No. 11104 on abuse of state resources (ASR) during elections, which could result to their eventual disqualification as candidates in the forthcoming midterm elections,” he added.
In a related development, a four-page etition for disqualification was also filed against former Malabon City mayor Antolin Oreta, who is running for congressman; former Malabon City councilor Lorenzo Oreta, who is running for councilor; and Joey Sabaricos, who is also running for councilor.
According to petitioner William Nicolas, the three local bets should be disqualified for allegedly committing vote buying acts when they distributed brown bags to all attendees of a political rally in Barangay Tonsuya that contained a piece of bread and two pieces of P100 bills.
“Undersigned is executing this instant petition for purposes of filing an election offense case against the respondent for violation of Section 89, Article X, Section 261 (a) in relation to Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code,” Nicolas said.
“Premises considered, it is respectfully prayed to this Honorable Commission that the respondents be sanctioned and disqualified from running in their respective posts premise on the foresighted offenses against our existing laws,” he also said.
With less than two weeks before Election Day, Garcia said the Comelec is expecting more petitions for disqualification to be filed in the coming days.
“There will be more (petitions for disqualification) as Election Day draws closer. There will be more violators and those breaking our rules and guidelines,” he said.
“We can expect the numbers to not just double but triple or even quadruple in the coming days,” he added.
