The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division has dismissed the petition seeking for the cancellation of the Certificate of Candidacy (COC) of senatorial candidate Raffy Tulfo as it was "bereft" of any merit.
In the 10-page resolution promulgated on Dec. 16, 2021, it was stated that the petition "does not have any legal leg to stand on".
The petition was filed by a certain Julieta Licup Pearson. In her petition, Pearson Claimed that that the respondent misrepresented in his COC the following items: the identity of his legal wife, the period of his residence in the Philippines (62 years and two months), and the pendency of criminal complaints lodged against him.
She also claimed that Tulfo is a dual citizen and therefore should be disqualified to be a candidate for senator. Pearson mentioned in her petition that Tulfo is married to her.
The resolution stated that the petition should have been summarily dismissed as it combined grounds for cancellation of COC and a ground for disqualification. This should not be the case according to Section 1 of Rule 25 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure. The petitioner also failed to submit a copy of the respondent's COC.
"For a lack of a better way to put it, Petitioner's evidence is grossly insufficient considering that the COC it sought to cancel was not even attached to the petition," the resolution stated.
The Second Division said that if even if they were to assume that the respondent did misrepresent the name of his legal spouse, it's still no material so as to warrant the cancellation of his COC since his civil status is not material matter for the reason that it does not pertain to his qualification for elective office.
The resolution also mentioned that the petitioner failed to substantiate the allegation that the respondent lived in the United States and even married an American citizen. It further stated that respondent would only need to be a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election.
According to the Second Division, there is no evidence on record much less an allegation that the respondent has ever been found liable for an offense of such as the petitioner claimed. She stated that he has existing criminal complaints for Violation of RA 9262 and Bigamy before the Department of Justice.
The Second Division also stated that being a dual citizen does not automatically disqualify a person to run for senator.
"Petitioner is grossly mistaken - she is barking at the wrong tree," it stated. It explained that the Section 40 of the Local Government Code is only meant to apply to local positions.
"In sum, the Petition does not have any legal leg to stand on. On account of the foregoing disquisitions, it becomes readily apparent that the instant Petition is bereft of any merit. Hence the instant Petition must be denied," the resolution read.