The Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting en banc, has junked the appeal of former Pasig City Mayor Maribel Andaya-Eusebio to be recognized as a registered voter in the second district of Camarines Sur, thereby disqualifying her in running for a congressional seat in the province.
In a resolution, the Comelec, led by Chairman Sheriff Abas, affirmed the earlier decision of the electoral watchdog’s first division, which also found her guilty of “false material representation” when she claimed in her certificate of candidacy (COC) that she was a registered voter of Barangay Puro Batia in the municipality of Libmanan, Camarines Sur.
Given her act of material misrepresentation, Comelec Commissioner Marlon Casquejo—one of the five commissioners who concurred with the decision—said Andaya-Eusebio should be promptly investigated and, when appropriate, prosecuted for committing an election offense punishable under the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).
“The Commission has a constitutional duty to investigate, and where, appropriate, prosecute cases involving election offenses. Hence, the election offense aspect of this case should be referred to the [Comelec’s] law department for the conduct of preliminary investigation for possible violation of election laws, particularly Section 262, in relation to Section 74, of the OEC, pursuant to the authority of the commission to motu propio initiate a complaint for the said offense,” Casquejo said in his concurring opinion.
Andaya-Eusebio, a former mayor of Pasig City and the sister of House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., had wanted her voter registration records transferred to Barangay Puro Batia from Pasig City last year so she could run for a congressional seat in Camarines Sur’s Second District against reelectionist Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. With Andaya-Eusebio’s disqualification, Villafuerte is running unopposed this midterm elections.
Her request to have her voter registration records transferred was denied by the Comelec’s Election Registration Board in October last year.