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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Garcia: DQ case politically motivated

Garcia: DQ case politically motivated

Published May 6, 2025 07:24 pm

Reelectionist Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia shrugged off the disqualification case filed against him before the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Garcia described the petition as politically motivated.

“That’s just for media consumption to put me in a negative light. It’s politically motivated,” Garcia told reporters on Tuesday, May 6.

Garcia added that it is a desperate move by his opponents as he is leading in surveys with the election just a few days away.

He cited a recent survey conducted by a university here  showing him as the leading candidate for mayor.

Prominent candidates challenging Garcia are former Mayor Michael Rama, Councilor Nestor Archival, and former anti-drug czar Yogi Ruiz.

“First of all, they are not leading. Second, they are desperate, trying to pull me down because I am leading the survey,” Garcia said.

The petition for disqualification was filed by one Analiza Pilunes Maglasang. 

Maglasang accused Garcia of violating election laws by using government-funded relief operations to promote his candidacy.

“Respondent caused the use of public funds, goods, or relief during the campaign period to further his interest,” Maglasang said in the petition.

“He ensured that, in the actual release of these funds, he would be present so the people would associate him and the release of these funds to them,” she added.

The complainant cited an activity last March 11 where Garcia graced a rice distribution in Barangay Duljo-Fatima.

The complainant questioned the presence of Garcia in the activity as the barangay is not among the mountain barangays earlier declared under a state of calamity due to the El Niño phenomenon.

The petitioner argued that the event constituted a violation of Section 261(v)(2) of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the use of public funds for social welfare activities during the 45-day campaign period.

The petition added that among the government-funded assistance programs implemented during the campaign period was the Cebu City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program (CHAMP) on April 15, 2025.

Garcia insisted that there was nothing illegal in the activity. “Obviously, I have been very, very careful in implementing programs that don’t violate the law,” he said.

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