Comelec to decide on election cases vs Erwin Tulfo’s before May polls

ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo (File photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The disqualification cases filed against Senate race survey frontrunner and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo will be resolved before the elections.

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia gave the schedule on Thursday.

The House lawmaker is facing two disqualification cases, one of which was filed on Tuesday, due to grounds of moral turpitude stemming from his libel conviction as well as his citizenship issue.

Aside from Tulfo, his brother and fellow senatorial candidate Ben and the rest of three other members of the Tulfo clan were the subjects of a disqualification case over political dynasty accusations.

READ: Comelec: Disqualification case filed vs Tulfo brothers, 3 kin

When asked if the decisions for these cases will be handed down before the elections, Garcia said, “That is correct.”

“Not because his name is popular, but that’s what we have been doing with cases at present,” the Comelec chief said in a DWPM interview.

“Our commitment is that, just like in nuisance cases, all disqualification cases will be done for the first time, before elections,” Garcia said.

He also mentioned that the two disqualification cases against Erwin will not be consolidated.

“There are smaller grounds included in the [newly] filed petition. The petitioners are different, and the accusations and allegations are not the same,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Comelec now has an 84 percent “disposal rate” of cases.

Garcia said this number is the highest in the poll body’s history.

“Therefore, we are showing that, while we are busy in election preparations, we are not neglecting the cases,” he said.