Comelec upholds junking of DQ petition vs BH party-list
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has affirmed a ruling junking a petition for disqualification against the Bagong Henerasyon (BH) party-list and its nominees.
In an eight-page decision, the poll body en banc dismissed a motion for reconsideration (MR) filed by petitioner Russel Stanley Geronimo assailing a May 22 decision of the Comelec First Division, which junked the disqualification petition he filed against the party-list.
Named respondents to the case were the BH party-list group as well as Rep. Bernadette Herrera, Robert Gerard Lopez Nazal Jr., and Maria Editha Tan Alcantara.
'Wherefore, premises considered, the Commission en banc resolved, as it hereby resolves to deny this motion for reconsideration and affirms the resolution of the Commission First Division dated May 22, 2025,' the en banc ruling reads.
According to the Comelec en banc, the petitioner failed to present any new, compelling evidence and merely reiterated the points he made in his petition.
'To grant reconsideration under the present circumstances would be to undermine the integrity of the Commission's own procedural framework and open the floodgates to negligent, or even worse - tactical, non-compliance,' the Comelec en banc said.
'In view of the foregoing, We find no cogent reason to depart from the Assailed Order of the Commission (First Division).'
The Comelec First Division last week dismissed the disqualification petition filed by Geronimo for failing to serve a copy of the petition to the respondents through personal service and for failing to attach a copy of Certificate of Nomination-Certificate of Acceptance of Nomination.
Asked if the party-list will be proclaimed following the development, Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said: 'If hindi po makakakuha ng temporary restraining order sa Supreme Court ang Petitioner-Appellant, if ever aakyat man sila on appeal via a Petition for Certiorari, magiging final and executory po ang en banc decision within five days'.
(If the petitioner would not be able to secure a TRO from the Supreme Court, then the Comelec ruling will be final and executory within five days.)
'After which, the Clerk of the Commission will issue a Certificate of Finality, an Entry of Judgment and Writ of Execution. Then, proclamation may ensue. Kailangan po munang maging final and executory ang decision ng Commission en banc,' he added.
('After which, the Clerk of the Commission will issue a Certificate of Finality, an Entry of Judgment and Writ of Execution. Then, proclamation may ensue. The decision needs to be final and executory first.)
The Commission on Elections, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, earlier postponed the proclamation of BH Party-list and Duterte Youth due to pending petitions filed against them. — BAP, GMA Integrated News
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