Comelec affirms dismissal of DQ petition vs. Erwin Tulfo
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has upheld a decision junking a petition for the disqualification of incoming Senator Erwin Tulfo.
In a seven-page resolution dated June 5, 2025, the poll body said the motion for reconsideration filed by Toto Bunyog Causing and Graft-free Philippines Foundation Inc. was rejected for having no merit.
'The Commission En Banc finds it unnecessary to discuss the same, considering that no merit has been found in any of the arguments raised in this Motion for Reconsideration,' the resolution read.
Among the reasons the petitioners cited in Tulfo's disqualification case are his US citizenship and violation of the equal access to opportunities for public service.
Comelec reiterated that 'lack of Philippine citizenship, violation of the equal access clause and the political dynasty prohibition, and failure to meet academic qualifications are not grounds for disqualification.'
On May 23, the Comelec junked Tulfo's disqualification case over petitioners' failure to observe certain requirements.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
GMA Network
12 hours ago
- GMA Network
Duterte Youth nominee's use of different surname for 'name recall' —Cardema
The Duterte Youth party-list on Friday explained that the alleged use of its first nominee of a different surname is for 'name recall." In a statement, Duterte Youth chairperson Ronald Cardema came to the defense of Drixie Mae Cardema amid allegations on social media that she used a different family name on her Certificate of Acceptance of Nomination (CONA) for Eleksyon 2025. Reports on social media alleged that the full name of the Duterte Youth nominee was Drixie Mae Suarez and not Cardema. 'First of all, Duterte Youth Party-List Cong. Drixie Mae Suarez-Cardema is the sister of former Duterte Youth Party-List Cong. Ducielle Marie Suarez-Cardema,' said Ronald, the partylist chairperson and husband of Ducielle. 'In the start of every Congress, congressmen and senators, formally request the House and the Senate for the political names that they prefer to use for the entire Congress because name recall is key to Philippine politics,' he added. On Thursday, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chief George Erwin Garcia said the poll body's Law Department is set to issue a motu prioprio show cause order against the Duterte Youth first nominee for allegedly using a different surname on her CONA. Garcia, however, clarified the case will not affect Drixie's nomination and possible proclamation, saying there were no formal petitions filed for the cancellation of her nomination. 'Para sa amin, yan ay fact-finding muna. Hindi pa naman namin sinasabing may disqualification case o pormal na kaso, election offense, o kung ano pa man,' Garcia told reporters in a virtual interview on Friday. (For us, this is just fact-finding proceedings. We are not saying there is a disqualification or election offense case.) 'Ayaw namin pangunahan muna, ayaw namin ipre-empt ang Law Department. Kung yun ang kanilang depensa, so be it. At least kahit paano meron silang depensa nila sa paggamit ng isang family name na maaaring di yun nag family name ng naturang partylist nominee,' he added. (We don't want to preempt the Law Department. If that is the explanation of the Cardemas, then so be it.) The Comelec will likewise look into the official documents that Drixie submitted when she filed her candidacy for Eleksyon 2025 as well as her previous records, according to Garcia. It can be recalled the Duterte Youth ranked second in the partylist race for Eleksyon 2025, garnering 2.3 million votes. However, the Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, postponed its proclamation due to its pending cases.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
18 hours ago
- GMA Network
Comelec: Preparations ongoing for BARMM polls
Commission on Elections chairman George Garcia said Friday that preparations proceed as planned for the first ever parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Garcia told GMA News Online that it is not for the poll body to decide whether or not the BARMM polls would push through on October 13, 2025. 'Kami po sa Comelec ay walang hinto ang paghahanda sa BARMM parliamentary elections. Tuloy na tuloy po ito kung kami ang tatanungin. Wala po sa amin ang desisyon tungkol sa pagpapaliban nito,' Garcia said. (We at the Comelec do not stop preparing for the BARMM parliamentary elections. This will continue, if we are asked. The decision whether to postpone it or not is not ours to make.) Based on Comelec Resolution No. 11149, the election period for the BARMM polls will begin on August 14 and last until October 28. A gun ban will also be implemented throughout this period. The campaign period, meanwhile, will be from August 28 to October 11. Campaigning will be prohibited in the region starting election eve or on October 12, until election day on October 13. There will also be a liquor ban enforced in these two days. Once the election period is over, candidates will be given until November 12 to file their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE). In February, Garcia announced that President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. signed into law the measure postponing the BARMM parliamentary elections from May to October this year. It was first postponed from May 2022 to May 2025 under Republic Act 11593. Marcos has certified as urgent the bill postponing the BARMM elections, according to Malacañang. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
19 hours ago
- GMA Network
Japan diet OKs defense pact with PH —envoy
Japan's Diet on Friday ratified a key defense pact allowing the deployment of Japanese forces for joint drills with Filipino troops in the Philippines, Manila's top envoy to Tokyo said. "We welcome today's approval of the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) between the Philippines and Japan by the House of Councillors, which completes the approval process in the Japanese Diet," Philippine Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano said in a statement sent to GMA News Online. The RAA, which similarly allows Filipino soldiers to enter Japan for joint combat drills, was approved by the Philippine Senate on December 2024 Garcia-Albano said the RAA is "a testament to the trust and enduring friendship between the Philippines and Japan." "It will enhance our ability to work closely together in promoting a rules-based order governed by international law," she said. Japan and the Philippines are establishing closer security ties in reaction to China's aggressive territorial assertions. China and Japan are also locked in a long-running territorial dispute over the Senkaku islands, which the Chinese call Diaoyu, in the East Sea. A vital trading and shipping lane, the South China Sea, dotted with rocks, shoals, and reefs where rich oil and mineral deposits were found, are claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan. Manila largely won a landmark case against China's massive claim in the South China Sea before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, but Beijing does not recognize the ruling. Similar to Manila's Visiting Forces Agreement with its treaty ally, the United States, the RAA defense pact with the Philippines is the first to be signed by Japan in Asia. Japan signed similar agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom. "We thank the Government and people of Japan for their steadfast support and continued collaboration," Garcia-Albano said. "We look forward to the full implementation of this agreement and to building an even more resilient and forward-looking partnership in the years ahead." —AOL, GMA Integrated News
