The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has been urged to overturn the choice of the Second Division junking the disqualification petition filed towards Erwin Tulfo, who has been eyeing a congressional seat as nominee of ACT-CIS party-list.
This, after lawyer Moises Tolentino filed a movement for reconsideration, asking that the Comelec en banc affirm its jurisdiction over the petition, declare it meritorious, and bar Tulfo from sitting as a party-list consultant.
Last week, the Comelec Second Division dismissed Tolentino’s petition for lack of jurisdiction after it gave weight to Tulfo’s argument that the disqualification was filed out of time.
The Comelec Second Division cited Section 4(b), Rule 5 of Comelec Resolution 9366 which explicitly requires {that a} petition for disqualification shall be filed at any day not later than the date of proclamation, which on this case was May 26, 2022.
In his movement, Tolentino mentioned the ruling that the fee has no jurisdiction over the case is “patently contrary to law and jurisprudence.”
The petitioner questioned the Comelec Second Division’s interpretation of the “date of proclamation.”
He mentioned that the physique’s adoption of Tulfo’s argument that the date of the proclamation of the party-list was May 26,2022 was “very wrong and utterly deceptive.”
“If we go by this argument, there will be no need for individual nominees to be proclaimed as Party List Representative. Likewise, the issuance of an individual Certificate of Proclamation would be unnecessary. Yet, this is the procedure the COMELEC has been doing,” Tolentino mentioned.
“The fact is, as of today Respondent Erwin Tulfo is yet to be issued his certificate of proclamation,” he went on.
He supported his argument by stating that the Comelec Second Division decision contravene Section 13 of the Party-List Law which supplies that party-list representatives shall be proclaimed by the Comelec based mostly on the listing of names submitted by the respective events, organizations or coalitions to the Comelec based on their rank in mentioned listing.
Tolentino additionally argued that the House of Representative’s secretary basic can be hindered to make a proper request for the Comelec to problem a decision proclaiming Tulfo as nominee next-in-line if the case was actually out of the ballot physique’s jurisdiction.
Further, he cited the Supreme Court ruling on Lico et. al vs. Comelec which held that the next necessities ought to be thought-about to find out if the jurisdiction over a disqualification case had already handed to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET):
-The Party List Representative whose qualification is assailed had been proclaimed
-The mentioned Party List Representative had personally taken his oath
-The Party List Representative had already assumed workplace as congressman
The identical jurisprudence offered that “In the case of party-list representatives, the HRET acquires jurisdiction over a disqualification (only) upon proclamation of the winning party-list group, oath of the nominee, and assumption of office as member of the House of Representatives.”
“Thus, prior to the happening of all the three mentioned events, the poll body still has jurisdiction on the petition for disqualification of a Party List Representative,” Tolentino mentioned.
Tolentino likewise observed the separate opinion of Comelec Second Division presiding commissioner Marlon Casquejo that the Commission “is not without authority to resolve the present case on merits.”
“Here is the stark fact: far as Respondent Tulfo is concerned, there is no showing that he had been proclaimed as Party List Representative, or had taken oath as such Party List Representative, or had assumed the office as member of the House of Representatives representing the ACT-CIS Party List. Ergo, Comelec’s jurisdiction lies, and in this Commissioner Casquejo is perfectly right,” he mentioned.
While the Comelec Second Division deemed it futile to debate the problems raised by Tolentino, particularly Tulfo’s citizenship and conviction of libel circumstances, the petitioner maintained that there’s ample proof to show that ACT-CIS party-list nominee had misplaced his Philippine citizenship and had not regained it.
On Tulfo’s libel conviction, Tolentino assailed that Comelec ought to concentrate on the truth that the crime which the ACT-CIS party-list nominee was convicted is one involving ethical turpitude and that ought to be the trigger for his disqualification.—LDF, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
