Comelec First Division disqualifies Cabuyao City mayor for ‘vote-buying’

MANILA, Philippines—The Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division has disqualified Dennis Felipe Hain as mayor of Cabuyao City, Laguna, due to allegations of vote-buying during the 2025 midterm elections.

Based on a 19-page resolution issued on Oct. 23 and made public on Tuesday, the case stemmed from a petition filed by former Cabuyao City Vice Mayor Leif Opiña last April 29, who sought to disqualify Hain and his brother, Richard, as mayor and district representative, respectively.

The Comelec First Division had dismissed Opiña’s petition against Richard as it became moot following his defeat in the elections.

In his petition, Opiña alleged that the pair violated Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code by committing acts considered as vote-buying.

On several occasions in April, Opiña said the brothers’ political party, the National Unity Party (NUP), had invited residents of Cabuyao City into one of their private properties for a supposed “poll watchers seminar,” after which attendees were given P1,000 each to persuade them to vote for the pair.

READ: 158 cases of vote buying, vote selling, abuse of gov’t resources filed – DILG

Attendees were also subjected to a full body search, and were required to surrender their phones, which are then wrapped in plastic, in order to prevent them from recording the event, the petitioner claimed.

According to the First Division, the “substantial” evidence presented by Opiña was able to establish that the elements of vote-buying were present based on Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code.

The evidence included judicial affidavits from witnesses who attested that they received P1,000 during an event organized by NUP, where Hain had personally appeared and delivered a speech soliciting votes.

Opiña also submitted photographs and videos of individuals lined up while going into premises allegedly owned by Hain, a phone wrapped in plastic, and cash with a sample ballot displaying the mayor’s name.

The alleged vote-buying incident was also documented on social media and reported in national news, the First Division noted, with witnesses confirming that they were asked to provide voter’s identification cards and surrender their mobile phones.

READ: Poll bets ‘buying’ voters for P50 to P10,000 each

Arranging such events that are targeted toward registered voters in the locality that Hain is seeking to be elected “clearly suggests that it was intended to gain support and secure voter approval.”

The timing of the event, which occurred during the campaign period, together with Hain’s campaign speech where he supposedly solicited votes and the presence of election paraphernalia in the area, “leave no plausible conclusion other than the gathering was conducted to induce votes.”

Lawyer Romar Montesa, legal counsel for Hain, said the mayor will be filing a motion for consideration before the Comelec en banc after he acknowledged the findings of the First Division.

“The mayor firmly maintains that he did not participate in, authorize, or have any involvement in the acts alleged in the petition, and remains confident that a fair and thorough review will ultimately vindicate his name,” Montesa said in a statement sent to the Inquirer.

“Mayor Hain continues to faithfully discharge his duties as Mayor of Cabuyao City, focused on governance and public service, while allowing the proper legal remedies to take their course,” he added.

In the meantime, he appealed to the public to “respect the independence of the Comelec” and “refrain from speculation pending the resolution of the case by the En Banc.” /gsg