The Commission on Election (Comelec) en banc on Wednesday issued a certificate of finality and entry of judgment on the disqualification of Carmen Geraldine Rosal as a mayoral candidate of Legazpi City in Albay province during the 2022 national and local poll.
"The Commission on Elections this morning issued the Certificate of Finality (CoF) and Entry of Judgment (EoJ) in relation to the disqualification of Carmen Geraldine Rosal as a candidate for Mayor of Legazpi City during the 9 May 2022 National and Local Elections, docketed as SPA No. 22-032 (DC)," Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said in a press statement.
He said the Comelec en banc affirmed the ruling of Comelec Second Division released on May 5 that Alfredo Garbin Jr. is the duly-elected Mayor of Legazpi City.
The Comelec Second Division earlier ruled that Rosal is disqualified for violating Section 68 (a) of the Omnibus Election Code which prohibits giving "money or other material consideration to influence, induce or corrupt the voters or public officials performing electoral functions."
According to the poll body, Rosal participated in a two-day tricycle driver's cash assistance payout on March 23 last year as seen in the photos uploaded by a citizen named Al Barizo on Facebook, and the latter did not deny her presence in the said activity.
"Images in the said Facebook post showed that election paraphernalia were displayed during the activity and that Rosal and others wore campaign T-shirts and hats bearing their respective names," it earlier said in a statement.
"Stating that "gratitude is ordinarily and naturally accorded to the giver," the COMELEC en banc found it sufficient to conclude that Rosal was among those who gave the cash assistance and that it was given "in order to influence or induce them to support her candidacy for Mayor," the poll body added.
