Erwin Tulfo faces another disqualification case, says Comelec
Rep. Erwin Tulfo (FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Another disqualification case was filed against senatorial candidate and ACT-CIS Representative Erwin Tulfo, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
A file sent by Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia to the media on Wednesday showed that the poll body received the petition on Tuesday.
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The petition was filed by disbarred lawyer Berteni Cataluña Causing and Graft-free Philippine Foundation, Inc. represented by Diosdado Villar Calonge.
The petitioners said Tulfo shall be disqualified from the 2025 Senate race as the lawmaker is “still suffering from the 20-year disqualification caused by the moral turpitude in four counts of libel.”
The Supreme Court affirmed Tulfo’s conviction of four counts of libel. The petitioners argued that “[t]he four (4) counts of libel involved moral turpitude, which is a disqualification under Section 12 of the Omnibus Election Code.”
It added that even if Tulfo paid fines imposed in the four counts of libel, “his moral disqualification cannot be served simultaneously but successively,” noting that “the four five-year period of the disqualification must be served successively.”
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Secondly, the petitioners said, “Erwin or Erich Sylvester Tulfo is a United States of America (USA) citizen and is not a Filipino.”
Tulfo previously admitted that he became an American citizen in 1988, noting that he regained his Filipino citizenship in 2022 as part of requirements for his appointment as a public official.
The petitioners also noted that the third and fourth grounds of disqualification case are violations of provisions of political dynasty as stated in the Section 26 Article II of the 1987 Constitution.
The first provision states that “[t]he State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities for public service…” while the second provision notes that “[t]he State shall…prohibit political dynasty as may be defined by law.”
The petitioners also argued that “[i]n filing their certificates of candidacy, Erwin and Ben knew that if they ran for senator and at the same time, they would deprive the rest of the Filipinos of “equal access to opportunities for public service as senators” in so far as two Senate seats that would go to Erwin and Ben are concerned.”
Lastly, the petitioners said that the respondent failed to prove his academic qualification or ability to serve the people of the Philippines “with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency as required under Section 1 of Article XI of the 1987 Constitution.”
Further, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said in an interview on Wednesday that the respondent’s case will be raffled on Thursday to decide which Comelec division will handle the case.
Erwin, in a statement on Wednesday, said that while his camp has not received the official copy of the disqualification case, he is ready to answer the case as part of the process.
READ: Comelec: Disqualification case filed vs Tulfo brothers, 3 kin
Meanwhile, it can be recalled that a disqualification case was previously filed against Erwin, his brother broadcaster and senatorial candidate Ben Tulfo, ACT-CIS Rep. Jocelyn Pua-Tulfo, Quezon City 2nd District Rep. Ralph Wendel Tulfo, and Turismo Party-list nominee Wanda Tulfo-Teo.
Petitioner Virgilio Garcia argued that the respondents being members of what he deemed as a political dynasty is grounds for disqualification for the May 2025 elections.
