NextGen Day

MANILA, Philippines — The disqualification complaint against Deputy Speaker Rep. Prospero A. Pichay Jr. of Surigao del Sur for his congressional run in the forthcoming May 2022 elections has been dismissed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Comelec’s previous First Division dismissed the petition filed by Pichay’s opponent, Construction Workers’ Solidarity Party-list Rep. Romeo Momo, in November last year to annul his Certificate of Candidacy (COC). The resolution was presented to the media on Wednesday.

The Comelec denied Momo’s appeal, which claimed Pichay was disqualified from reelection because of his conviction in an Ombudsman case connected to his stint as Chair of the Local Water Utilities Administration under the Arroyo presidency.

In his reply, Pichay claimed that Momo had submitted similar complaints against him in prior elections, which the Comelec and the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal had regularly refused (HRET).

The penalty of everlasting disqualification, according to Pichay, is not yet final because it was appealed to the Supreme Court.

“We cannot hold that the everlasting disqualification is valid against Pichay until the outcome of his appeal with the Supreme Court,” the resolution stated.

Comelec further stated that when he declared himself qualified to run for office, he made no misleading material representations.

“In conclusion, because of the extraordinary character of executions pending appeal, this commission is duty-bound to carefully construe Rule III Section 7 of the Ombudsman regulations,” the resolution stated, referring to the policy addressing the finality of verdicts such as convictions.

The polling body stated that “the provision should not be construed to contain the ancillary penalty of lifelong disqualification because this would be contradictory to the construction of the law, the intent behind it, and existing jurisprudence,” according to the polling body.

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