THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday announced that the disqualification of former Caloocan representative Edgar Erice from running for a seat in the House of Representatives for the May 2025 polls is final and executory.
This arose from the Supreme Court decision not to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Comelec’s ruling.
Comelec’s Dec. 27, 2024 resolution affirming the Second Division’s earlier ruling against Erice became final on Jan. 3, 2025. Thus, the commission issued a certificate of finality, emphasizing that the absence of a TRO from the Supreme Court paved the way for the enforcement of its decision.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia confirmed that Erice’s name would be excluded from the official ballots, with printing set to begin on Jan. 6, 2025.
“As long as there is no TRO, we’ll have to proceed with the printing of ballots,” Garcia said.
Erice was disqualified for disseminating “false and alarming” information, which the Comelec ruled as a violation of election laws under Section 261(z)(11) of the Omnibus Election Code. The provision penalizes individuals who spread false or alarming reports to disrupt or obstruct the election process or confuse voters.
The Comelec’s Second Division initially disqualified Erice in November 2024, citing his claims about corruption and irregularities involving the Comelec’s P18-billion contract with Korean-based firm Miru Systems for the automated election system.
Erice accused the Comelec of rigging the bidding process and alleged that certain officials, including Garcia, had offshore accounts linked to bribe money.
The Comelec ruled that Erice’s statements were baseless and undermined public confidence in the electoral process.
“Respondent deliberately makes baseless and unsubstantiated imputations of corruption against the commission and its officers,” the resolution stated. The commission noted that Erice’s repeated calls to reuse older machines from Smartmatic were intended to sow confusion and mislead voters.
Chairman Garcia has denied the allegations and called for investigations by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Erice contested the ruling, filing a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court and seeking a TRO. He argued that his statements were legitimate criticisms of Comelec and part of his civic duty.
He also challenged the Comelec’s interpretation of Section 261(z)(11), claiming that his actions did not occur near voting centers, as specified by the law.
However, the Comelec refuted this as a “self-serving interpretation” and maintained that the provision applies broadly to any actions intended to disrupt elections.
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