DQ petitions filed vs local bets for alleged poll violations
Separate petitions for disqualification were filed on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against several local candidates for alleged vote-buying and other poll violations. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines—Separate petitions for disqualification were filed on Wednesday before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against several local candidates for alleged vote-buying and other offenses.
These candidates included Aklan Congressional bet Teodorico Haresco Jr.; Masbate bets Elisa Kho, Ricardo Kho, Fernando Talisic, and Olga Kho; and Malabon City bets Antolin Oreta III, Lorenzo Oreta, and Joey Sabaricos.
Petitioners Henry Olid and Shirly Lagradante, barangay captains of Tibiawan and Poblacion in Aklan, claimed that they witnessed the distribution of P2,000 worth of “pay-out” in the house of Shiela Puod, one of Haresco’s staff.
In an interview with reporters, Lagradante said that she and Olid were informed about the cash payout last April 23. She said that they immediately went to the house and discovered that many people were in the area.
The petition also revealed that two individuals, Rhea Latumbo and Pinky Bunda, were identified as Contract of Service workers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The petitioners filed the case against Haresco on the grounds of alleged vote-buying and violations of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) and sought his disqualification and from assuming any office.
READ: Masbate bets issued show cause orders over alert system use
Meanwhile, petitioners led by Atty. Ruperto Gadia Sr. is seeking to disqualify Ricardo Kho, Olga Kho, Elisa Kho, and Talisic from the elections for abuse of state resources (ASR) over their alleged use of the Emergency Cell Broadcast System (ECBS), an alert messaging system containing political advertisements.
The petitioners said that the use of ECBS “is a violation of Section 30, Article III, of Comelec Resolution No. 11104 on abuse of state resources during elections, which could result in their eventual disqualification as candidates in the forthcoming elections.”
The petitioners, likewise, said that the respondents committed ASR through the use of government-owned facilities for an election campaign.
The petitioners want the candidacies of the respondents to be declared as “void on the grounds of the provision of ASR under Section 30, in relation to Section 34, Article III of Comelec Resolution No. 11104″ and to initiate the filing of criminal charges for violating Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10639 or the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act.
Lastly, a petition for disqualification and election offense complaint were filed against Antolin Oreta III, Lorenzo Oreta, and Sabaricos for alleged vote-buying. Petitioner William Nicolas said that he attended a political rally where the respondents distributed a brown bag with a piece of bread and two pieces of P100 bills inside.
READ: 74 show cause orders issued for alleged vote-buying, abuse of resources
The petitioner wants the respondents to be disqualified from the elections for violating the prohibition on vote-buying under the OEC, and for the suspension of their proclamation, should they win in the elections.
The Comelec, through the Committee on Kontra Bigay (CKB) recently issued show cause orders to several candidates for vote-buying and ASR allegations.
The CKB is tasked with implementing all poll body policies against vote-buying, vote-selling, and ASR and facilitating the filing of complaints for election offenses or the disqualification of candidates who are proven to have committed these offenses.
