The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has dismissed disqualification petitions against Bagong Henerasyon (BH) party-list and Senator-elect Erwin Tulfo, even as it continues to deliberate on two pending cases involving the Duterte Youth party-list.
Comelec chair George Garcia said the BH party-list case was dismissed due to procedural lapses on the part of the petitioner, specifically the failure to personally serve copies of the petition and submit an affidavit explaining why this was not feasible.
“Once the decision is final and executory, the Comelec can proclaim the BH party-list,” Garcia said in a Viber message to the media.
In a decision by the Comelec First Division, presided over by Commissioner Aimee Ferolino, the poll body found that while the petitioner used registered mail to send copies of the petition, no justification was provided for not using personal service, as required by Comelec Resolution No. 9366.
Additionally, the petitioner failed to include a Certificate of Nomination-Certificate of Acceptance of Nomination (CON-CAN), which is crucial in verifying party and nominee details.
Despite the dismissal, Comelec is holding off on proclaiming BH pending a possible motion for reconsideration.
Meanwhile, the disqualification case against Senator-elect Erwin Tulfo was also thrown out by the Comelec Second Division for similar procedural deficiencies.
The petition, filed by Bertini Toto Causing and the Graft-Free Philippines Foundation Inc. (GFPFI), alleged that Tulfo should be disqualified for having a conviction involving moral turpitude and for allegedly not being a Filipino citizen.
However, the Second Division found the petition lacking in form, citing the absence of an affidavit of authentication for the certificate of candidacy and a secretary’s certificate authorizing the petitioner to file on behalf of GFPFI.
“Such failure warrants the outright dismissal of the Petition for insufficiency in form,” the Comelec ruling read. “In view of the multiple grounds already established for the dismissal of the Petition, the other matters and issues raised by the parties no longer merit any consideration.”
In contrast, the Duterte Youth party-list criticized the Comelec for what it called “unequal treatment” and “selective justice.”
At a forum in Quezon City, Duterte Youth chairperson Ronald Cardema accused the poll body of committing “grave abuse of discretion” for excluding their group from the list of proclaimed winners in the May 2025 elections.
The Comelec must stop politicizing the elections,” Cardema said.
Duterte Youth received over 2.3 million votes in the 2025 midterm elections, ranking second among party-lists and qualifying for three congressional seats.
The party is currently facing two disqualification cases based on alleged misrepresentation in its registration.
Cardema also revealed that his group had filed a petition with the Supreme Court seeking a writ of preliminary injunction to halt Comelec’s suspension of its proclamation.