Comelec 1st Division grants petition to disqualify Aurora vice governor

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has disqualified Aurora Vice Gov. Gerardo "Jerry" Noveras as a candidate after violating  Section 261(d)(1) of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), printing campaign materials using government property within government premises in relation to the May 2022 polls. In the resolution promulgated on July 10, 2023, the First Division stated that the respondent Noveras falls "squarely" under the prohibition in Section 261(d)(1). Noveras who was then governor, gunned for the vice gubernatorial post and was elected. According to the resolution, a review of the evidence interweaved with the claims of the petitioner that there had been multiple violations of the OEC, wherein the respondent held an undue advantage of his elective post as then governor of the province by making use of the properties owned by the government and coercing, compelling and influencing his subordinates to advance his campaign for the May 2022 polls. The First Division found that the respondent indeed coerced and/or influenced Michael Tecuico, a casual plantilla worker of the Provincial Capital of Aurora, to perform acts to aid his candidacy, including the printing of campaign materials for Noveras using government properties and within government premises. "Tecuico's act of printing campaign materials can reasonably be seen as a result of [Noveras'] influence of compulsion, given their respective positions within the government," the resolution read. It added that coercion, intimidation, or influence can manifest in various forms and is not limited to overt threats or physical force. "Considering these factors, the combination of Respondent's position as a public officer, the fact that the campaign materials were printed for his benefit and the benefit of his running mates, and the overall power dynamics within the local government, it becomes evident that there exists a reasonable basis to assert the presence of coercion, intimidation, or influence over Tecuico," the First Division stated. It further explained that the respondent failed to "controvert" the pieces of evidence clearly establishing that tarpaulins for his campaign were being printed using provincial government resources by a casual plantilla employee under his control and supervision.