Comelec: Ejercito’s ‘overspending very clear’
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines— Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. dismissed claims that politics was behind the disqualification of Laguna Governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito.
“There is no politics in here. All the evidence that we have is purely documentary,” Brillantes said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM.
“If there is politics in here, we should have long finished the case,” he said citing that it took the poll body a long time to deliberate on the matter.
He reiterated that Ejercito spent P6 million in one television advertisement alone when his limit was only P4.5 million based on the registered voters in Laguna.
“Overspending is very clear,” he said, adding that the six million was only a portion of what Ejercito spent.
He said the governor‘s expenditures reached up to P23 million because Ejercito also had other advertising contracts.
He, however, reiterated that the camp of Ejercito has five days to seek a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Supreme Court.
“When we issue a decision by the en banc, the party who is aggrieved by the decision has five days to go to the Supreme Court to get a Temporary Restraining Order. If there is none, the decision will be executory,” he said.
Brillantes reminded candidates to strictly follow election rules citing the disqualification of Ejercito should be “a warning and a lesson learned” to all politicians.
On September 2013, the Comelec first division voted to disqualify Ejercito but the governor’s camp filed a motion for reconsideration before the poll body’s en banc.
On Wednesday, the Comelec, on a 23-page resolution, unanimously voted to disqualify Ejercito for “election overspending” during the 2013 midterm elections.
Ejercito’s disqualification stemmed from a complaint filed by his opponent Edgar San Luis.
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