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Advocates Philippines
COMELEC Dismisses Petition For Disqualification Against Erwin Tulfo
Photo credit: Erwin Tulfo / FB
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Second Division has issued a decision dismissing the petition for disqualification against Erwin T. Tulfo as nominee for Party-List Representative of the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list in connection with the 2022 National and Local Elections.
ACT-CIS, which received 2,111,091 votes in the 2022 elections, the highest among all Party-list candidates, secured three seats in Congress.
They were officially proclaimed on May 26, by the Commission en banc acting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).
However, the Petition for Disqualification against Erwin Tulfo was not filed within the prescribed period.
According to Section 4(b), Rule 5 of COMELEC Resolution No. 9366, any petition for disqualification against Party-list nominees must be filed on or before the date of proclamation.
In this case, the petition was filed nine months after the ACT-CIS proclamation, on March 1, 2023.
Consequently, the COMELEC deemed the petition to be out of time and lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
Tulfo occupied the fourth position in the list of nominees submitted to the COMELEC. The first three nominees had already assumed office on June 30, 2022. However, on February 22, 2023, the House of Representatives accepted the resignation of the third nominee, Jeffrey Soriano.
According to Section 16 of Republic Act No. 7491, Tulfo is entitled to automatically assume the seat vacated by Soriano and serve the remainder of his term.
ACT-CIS, which received 2,111,091 votes in the 2022 elections, the highest among all Party-list candidates, secured three seats in Congress.
They were officially proclaimed on May 26, by the Commission en banc acting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC).
However, the Petition for Disqualification against Erwin Tulfo was not filed within the prescribed period.
According to Section 4(b), Rule 5 of COMELEC Resolution No. 9366, any petition for disqualification against Party-list nominees must be filed on or before the date of proclamation.
In this case, the petition was filed nine months after the ACT-CIS proclamation, on March 1, 2023.
Consequently, the COMELEC deemed the petition to be out of time and lacked jurisdiction over the matter.
Tulfo occupied the fourth position in the list of nominees submitted to the COMELEC. The first three nominees had already assumed office on June 30, 2022. However, on February 22, 2023, the House of Representatives accepted the resignation of the third nominee, Jeffrey Soriano.
According to Section 16 of Republic Act No. 7491, Tulfo is entitled to automatically assume the seat vacated by Soriano and serve the remainder of his term.
May 26, 2023
