THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed a petition seeking the disqualification of former Social Welfare secretary Erwin Tulfo as nominee of party-list group ACT-CIS for lack of jurisdiction.
Comelec spokesman John Rex Laudianco said on Thursday that the ruling of the Comelec Second Division, led by Senior Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, would pave the way for the proclamation of Tulfo, one of the representatives of party-list group ACT-CIS in Congress.
“The resolution of the Comelec Second Division is not yet final and executory,” said Laudiangco, adding that petitioner Moises Tolentino may still file a motion for reconsideration (MR) within five days, including Saturday and Sunday.
He said that Tulfo needs a certificate of proclamation before he can assume his post as party-list representatives.
“If there is no MR, the decision [of the Comelec Second Division] would be final and executory. Then the [Commission] En Banc, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers will issue a certificate of proclamation,” said Laudiangco.
Tulfo was originally the fourth nominee of ACT-CIIS. But the third nominee, Jeffrey Soriano, resigned from his position, which qualified the former Social Welfare secretary to assume the vacancy as fourth nominee of the said party-list group.
Prior to that, Tulfo was twice bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) from his nomination as Social Welfare secretary, which prompted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to appoint his undersecretary Eduardo Punay as officer-in-charge. Punay was later replaced by former Malabon Rep. Rex Gatchalian, whose nomination to the top post of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was approved by the Commission on Appointments.
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Author: William B. Depasupil
