Comelec cancels COC of CamSur gubernatorial bet over residency issue
Ronald Alarkon Rodriguez
LEGAZPI CITY—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division has canceled the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Ronald Alarkon Rodriguez, a gubernatorial candidate in Camarines Sur, citing false material representation regarding his residency.
In a resolution promulgated on April 30, Comelec found that Rodriguez falsely declared himself a resident of Barangay Palestina in Pili, Camarines Sur, when evidence showed he continued to reside in Naga City.
Naga is an independent component city and its residents are not eligible to vote for candidates or run for elective posts in Camarines Sur, a key point in Comelec’s decision.
Rodriguez, who is running under the Nationalist People’s Coalition, stated in his COC that he had been a resident of Camarines Sur since April 2024. However, in his voter registration transfer application filed in May 2024, he claimed to have been living in Pili since December 2023. The discrepancy between the two dates was cited as a significant inconsistency.
Comelec rejected Rodriguez’s defense that the conflicting details were due to his unfamiliarity with election laws and a technical glitch in the voter registration system.
The resolution stated there was a “deliberate attempt to mislead, misinform and hide his true state of residence,” which made him ineligible to seek the gubernatorial post.
Physical presence
Comelec noted that, based on jurisprudence, residency requires actual physical presence combined with the intent to reside permanently. Rodriguez, the ruling said, failed to provide “sufficient and credible” evidence that he had established a new domicile in Camarines Sur.
The resolution was signed by First Division presiding Commissioner Aimee Ferolino and Commissioners Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr. and Maria Norina Tangaro-Casingal.
The petition to cancel Rodriguez’s COC was filed by Palestina residents Danilo Penda Camba and Buenaventura Bron Sunguad, who presented various forms of evidence indicating that Rodriguez had not met the one-year residency requirement.
Appeal
Among the documents were affidavits from neighbors stating Rodriguez was never seen living at the apartment he listed as his address. A barangay certification also confirmed there was no residential structure under his name in Pamon Village, where he claimed to reside.
In a phone interview on Friday, Rodriguez maintained he was not yet disqualified, stressing the ruling from the poll body’s First Division was not yet final and would be subject to a motion for reconsideration to be filed by his legal team.
“I will wait for the action to be taken by the Comelec en banc, and whatever the result—favorable or not—I will appeal it to the Supreme Court,” he said.
He added: “To say that I am already disqualified is a bit tricky. Obviously, they are using it as propaganda to discourage my supporters. The truth is that I am still running for governor and taking seriously the statement of Comelec Chair [George] Garcia that the decision from the First Division is not yet final and executory as long as we file a [motion for reconsideration].”
With Rodriguez’s COC canceled, Rep. Luis Raymund “Lray” Villafuerte is left running unopposed for the Camarines Sur gubernatorial seat.
Villafuerte, who has previously served both as governor and congressman of the province, dominated preelection surveys. A Pulse Asia poll conducted in December 2024 showed him leading with 80 percent voter support, compared to Rodriguez’s 8 percent.
