The Supreme Court has upheld with finality its decision ousting Surigao Rep. Philip Pichay who ran for congressman in the 2013 elections despite being ineligible due to his earlier conviction for libel in 2011.
In a one-page resolution dated Feb. 16 and released Thursday by the clerk of court, lawyer Felipe Anama, the high tribunal denied Pichay’s motion for reconsideration, saying the issues he raised were already passed upon by the magistrates so there were no new arguments presented to make them change their minds about their earlier ruling.
Last Jan. 26, the court, voting 11-0, reversed the decision of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) and declared former Tandag City Mayor Mary Elizabeth Ty-Delgado, the runner-up in the congressional race for Surigao del Sur’s first district, as the winner.
Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin, who were HRET members, took no part in the Supreme Court deliberations.
Delgado sought Pichay’s disqualification under Section 12 of the Omnibus Elections Code on the ground he had been convicted of libel, a crime involving moral turpitude, when he was president of Carlo Publishing House Inc., a publisher of a local tabloid.