With barely three days left before polling day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified a congressional candidate and dropped a disqualification case against a senatorial contender as part of continuing efforts to weed out unfit bets.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said the vast majority of candidates facing disqualification or cancellation of certificates were due to their alleged use of public funds to advance their political campaigns.
More specifically, the poll body’s Committee on Kontra Bigay (CKB) said it has received over 439 reports of vote-buying, vote-selling, and abuse of state resources (ASR) for Eleksyon 2025.
Commissioner Ernesto Maceda, Jr., chairperson of CKB, yesterday said 268 of these reports were connected to vote-buying and vote-selling, 130 were ASR, and 41 were a combination of both.
“Before the end of the day, I’m sure it will pass 450, which is not so much compared to 2022, [when the] total number [was] 1,226,” Maceda said.
Meanwhile, the Comelec’s Second Division has disqualified Pasig congressional candidate Christian Sia for making lewd remarks about single mothers during a campaign event last month.
In a 10-page resolution, the division granted the petition filed by Comelec Task Force on Safeguarding Fear and Exclusion (SAFE) against Sia seeking his disqualification.
“Wherefore, premises considered, the Commission (Second Division) resolved, as it hereby resolves to grant the Petition,” the decision, promulgated on Wednesday but released to the media on Thursday, said.
“Accordingly, Respondent is hereby disqualified from continuing as a candidate for Member, House of Representatives, Lone Legislative District of Pasig City, in relation to the 2025 National and Local Elections.”
Should Sia win in the elections, his proclamation will be suspended until the final resolution of the case.
As only a Comelec division issued the resolution, Sia can still file a motion for reconsideration with the Comelec en banc.
However, the poll body said it is dropping the vote-buying complaint against administration senatorial candidate and House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Camille Villar.
In a letter dated May 7, the committee tasked to curb the buying and selling of votes informed Villar that it accepts her explanation regarding her presence at a February event in Imus, Cavite, where cash prizes were given to the attendees.
“The Committee on Kontra Bigay takes cognizance of your answer and considers it to have satisfactorily explained the circumstances surrounding the reported act of alleged vote-buying,” Teopisto Elnas, the committee’s vice chairman, said in a letter furnished to reporters on Thursday.
“Upon evaluation of the evidence gathered, the undersigned deems the same insufficient to proceed to the filing of a complaint for election offense and/or a petition for disqualification,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Comelec en banc denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Pilipinas Babangon Muli (PBBM) party-list regarding the disqualification complaint filed by poll body’s Second Division for alleged misrepresentation.
The Second Division earlier cancelled the registration of the PBBM party-list, which claims to represent Calabarzon, after it was found that none of its 10 nominees came from the region.
According to the division, the group “violated the requirement that a regional party must have a regional constituency when it accepted, and even fielded as nominees, members who are not from Calabarzon.”
As this developed, a disqualification case was filed against Tuguegarao City Mayor Maila Ting-Que by lawyer Ronald Brillantes before the Comelec.
He accused the local chief executive of leveraging the resources, employees, and machinery of the Tuguegarao City government to promote her re-election bid.
Brillantes said this is a clear violation of election laws that bar public officials from using government funds or assets for personal or political advantage.
In a Facebook live video, Ting-Que said she is aware of the complaint but is reserving a response until they receive official communications from Comelec. She said they are preparing for a grand rally tomorrow (Friday).
“Yes, they filed (a petition, but) there is no order yet from Comelec for me to respond,” the mayor told a follower in the comments section when she was asked about the disqualification case.
