ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Comelec grants petition to disqualify Cagayan Governor Mamba over spending ban

Comelec grants petition to disqualify Cagayan Governor Mamba over spending ban

Published Dec 15, 2022 02:59 pm

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division granted the petition to disqualify Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba for violating Sec. 261 (v) (2) of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) and Resolution No. 10747.

MB file photo

In the resolution released on Thursday, Dec. 15, the Second Division stated that Mamba is disqualified as a candidate for the position of Governor of the Province of Cagayan in the May 2022 Elections.

Under Comelec Resolution No. 10747, no public official or employee including barangay officials, and those of government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries, shall release, disburse, or expend any public funds from March 25, 2022 to May 8, 2022.

The petition was filed by Ma. Zarah Rose De Guzman Lara was a candidate for the position of Governor of the Province of Cagayan in the May 2022 Elections.

In the petition, she alleged that the respondent, the incumbent Governor of Cagayan, "engaged in massive vote-buying activities" during the campaign period for the said elections.

The petitioner mentioned that this was done under the guise of distributing cash assistance under the programs called "No Barangay Left Behind (NBLB) and/or "No Town Left Behind" (NTLB), and "Oplan Tulong sa Barangay", despite the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) dated April 29, 2022, by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 5, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

It was also mentioned in the petition that a total of P550 million was distributed to all registered voters of Cagayan wherein each voter received P1,000 under the program "Krusada Kontra Korapsyon" (KKK).

Although the Second Division disagreed with the petitioner that the respondent must be disqualified under Sec. 68 of the OEC, the petitioner's pieces of evidence are substantial to prove the respondent's violation of Sec. 261 (v)(2) of the OEC and Sec. 2 of Comelec Resolution No. 10747.

The Second Division also explained that the Commission granted an exemption for the NBLB, subject to submission of the amount disbursed during the 45-day ban, but "specifically denied the exemption to the Development assistance to LGUs (NO TOWN LEFT BEHIND). There was no express exemption for Oplan Tulong sa Barangay and KKK programs."

"We are also not persuaded with Respondent's argument that the NBLB and NTLB are not new programs or activities of the PGC, and not initiated for campaign purposes, and the KKK is an anti-vote buying campaign of the PGC," the resolution read.

Related Tags

cagayan province of cagayan cagayan governor manuel mamba 45-day spending ban comelec second division Commission on Elections (Comelec) SPENDING BAN
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.