The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc affirmed Wednesday its junking of the disqualification case against Senator Raffy Tulfo, who won his seat in the 2022 national elections.
The case was filed by Juliet Pearson, who Tulfo admitted he fathered a child with. She is the same person who filed a bigamy case against the former broadcast journalist in 2019.
“In its resolution promulgated on 28 February 2023, the Commission en banc found no valid reason to reverse the Assailed Order of the Comelec First Division, which dismissed the petition seeking to disqualify Tulfo,” Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco said.
The motion for reconsideration “neither argues that the evidence on record is insufficient to justify the Assailed Order nor that the ruling arrived upon by the Comelec (First Division) is contrary to law,” he said.
Section 1, Rule 19 of the Comelec Rules of Procedure states that a motion for reconsideration may be filed on the grounds that the evidence is insufficient to justify the decision, order, or ruling, or that the said decision, order, or ruling is contrary to law.
The Comelec en banc pointed out that under Article VI, Section 17 of the 1987 Constitution, it no longer has jurisdiction over the disqualification case against Tulfo, since he had already been proclaimed as senator on May 18, 2022, and took his oath of office on June 22, 2022.
The same law provides that the Senate Electoral Tribunal is in charge of all election contests relating to members of Congress, comprised of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
All petitions junked by the Comelec en banc can be appealed before the Supreme Court, Laudiangco said.