Sen. Raffy Tulfo during a session in the Senate. Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday denied an appeal to reverse its dismissal of a disqualification case against Senator Raffy Tulfo in the 2022 national and local elections.
The motion was filed by Juliet Pearson — who Tulfo admitted he fathered a child with — and is the same person who filed a bigamy case against Tulfo 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 dated 4 March 2022 seeking to disqualify Tulfo,” the Comelec said.
According to the Comelec en banc in its decision, the motion also “neither argues that the evidence on record is insufficient to justify the Assailed Order nor that the ruling arrived upon by the Commission (First Division) is contrary to law.”
Furthermore, the 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 over all election contests relating to members of the Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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