Comelec halts proclamation of Erwin Tulfo amid DQ petition

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday suspended the proclamation of former Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary Erwin Tulfo as nominee next-in-line of ACT-CIS party-list group after a petition for his disqualification was filed on February 28.

Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said a petition for disqualification was lodged against Tulfo on allegations pertaining to “question of citizenship" and "conviction by final judgment of a crime involving moral turpitude.”

“Said Petition, docketed as SPA-23-001 (DCN) by the Clerk of the Commission, was taken cognizance by the Commission under Sections 1 to 5 of Rule 5 of COMELEC Resolution No. 9366. Therein, Atty. Moises S. Tolentino, Jr. is seeking the disqualification of Mr. Tulfo on allegations pertaining to ‘question of citizenship’ and ‘conviction by final judgment of a crime involving moral turpitude,’” Laudiangco said.

“Accordingly, under Section 8 of said Rule 5 of Resolution No. 9366, the proclamation of a nominee may be suspended notwithstanding the fact that the group or organization received the winning number of votes in such elections, if the evidence in the Petition for Disqualification is strong and such remains unresolved,” he said.

"Pursuant to the Rules, SPA-23-001 (DC) is scheduled to be raffled to a Division for Hearing on March 6, 2023,” he added.

Tulfo, however, said that he is ready to submit documents from the court and the embassy.

“We are ready to submit our docs from the court and from the embassy,” Tulfo told GMA News Online.

Last February 22, House Majority Leader Mannix Dalipe announced that one of the three representatives of the ACT-CIS party-list to the House of Representatives has resigned.

Dalipe said he made a motion to accept Jeffrey Soriano’s resignation and drop him from the roll of House members after the latter informed Speaker Martin Romualdez of his decision. Dalipe's motion was carried without opposition.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. picked the broadcaster to lead the DSWD shortly after the May 2022 election.

However, Tulfo’s nomination failed to get the approval of the Commission on Appointments (CA). At a CA hearing last November, the question of whether Tulfo had renounced his Filipino citizenship when he joined the US Army in 1988 arose. The panel bypassed his nomination a month later.

ACT-CIS, which stands for Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support, holds three seats in the 19th Congress after topping the 2022 party-list race with over two million votes.

The other two ACT-CIS party-list lawmakers are Tulfo’s sister-in-law, Jocelyn, and Edvic Yap.—LDF, GMA Integrated News