Aga Muhlach may be disqualified from joining 2013 polls—Brillantes

TAKING a plunge into politics, actor Aga Muhlach shakes hands with Liberal Party leaders in August as his wife, actress Charlene Gonzales (left, partly hidden), looks on. ARNOLD ALMACEN/FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. on Friday said that actor Aga Muhlach may be disqualified from running for Congress in the 2013 polls if the court ruling ordering his exclusion from the voters’ list of San Jose, Camarines Sur becomes final.

Asked whether the court ruling had an effect on Muhlach’s candidacy, Brillantes said “Oo naman, that’s one of the qualifications to run, you have to be a registered voter to be a candidate.”

“If the denial of his registration becomes final, then we will disqualify him,” he added.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer had earlier reported that in a 13-page ruling, Judge Noel Paulite of a court in Bicol ordered that the names of Muhlach and his wife Charlene be stricken off the list of voters in Barangay San Juan, San Jose, Camarines Sur, after they failed to comply with the six-months residency requirement for registered voters.

Muhlach, who joined the ruling Liberal Party in August, is running for congressman against Felix William “Wimpy” Fuentebella, son of last-term Deputy House Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella, in Camarines Sur’s fourth congressional district.

Brillantes noted that the ruling would be final unless Muhlach’s camp secures a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the higher court.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal, Muhlach’s counsel, had earlier said that they would file a petition for certiorari at the Court of Appeals.