DQ case filed vs Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez

REELECTION BID. Celebrity couple Richard Gomez and Lucy Torres-Gomez with their daughter, Juliana (left) during the filing of certificate of candidacy at the provincial Comelec office in Tacloban City on Oct. 2, 2024. Richard is running for a congressional seat to represent Leyte’s 4th District for a second term —PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano

MANILA, Philippines — A disqualification case was filed Monday against reelectionist Leyte (4th District) Rep. Richard Gomez for spreading what the petitioner deemed to be misinformation.

Mayor Ramon Oñate of Palompon town in Leyte filed this petition at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters at the Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros, Manila.

Oñate’s counsel, Emil Maranon, said this case stems from Facebook posts on the page “DYRG 101.5 FM ‘Blue Radio’” on March 6 and March 7, which contained accusations against an electoral board member.

READ: SC stops disqualification of Caloocan’s Erice from 2025 polls

“The culpability of Mr. Gomez came in when he propagated the said malicious Facebook post,” Maranon said in a press release.

Gomez shared this to his official Facebook page, “Richard ‘GOMA’ Gomez,” with around 752,000 followers, along with his own added caption stating that the town is poised to do “grave and massive election cheating this coming May,” according to Maranon.

Maranon said under Section 261 (z) (11) of the Omnibus Election Code, “propagating false and alarming reports/news to the general public is an election offense.”

Oñate’s camp is also banking on the Comelec’s decision to disqualify former Caloocan (2nd District) Rep. Edgar Erice over what they believe to have similar grounds to their case.

The Supreme Court, however, issued a temporary restraining order against Comelec on implementing Erice’s disqualification.