MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finalized the disqualification of former Caloocan congressman Erice, who planned to reclaim his old seat in the city’s second district, from the 2025 elections, for supposedly propagating false information.

The poll body issued the certificate of finality on Friday, January 3, after it had not received any restraining order from the Supreme Court.

The three-member Comelec 2nd Division first disqualified Erice on November 27, 2024, a ruling that was upheld by the en banc on December 27 of the same year, with Comelec Chairman George Garcia inhibiting.

The en banc asserted that Erice violated Section 261(z)(11) of the Omnibus Election Code, which bars the candidacies of people who spew lies about the elections.

Erice previously accused the Comelec of rigging the bidding process for the P18-billion contract in favor of Korean-based firm Miru, the replacement of perennial poll tech provider Smartmatic, and alleged that a poll official received bribe money from entities related to Miru through offshore accounts.

Chairman Garcia has denied owning offshore accounts, and has even asked the National Bureau of Investigation and Anti-Money Laundering Council to probe the allegations.

Erice sought to reverse the division-level ruling, saying he cannot be found guilty of violating Section 261(z)(11) of the election code because one element of the offense — that the act must be committed around voting centers — was missing, since he made the statements in restaurants and media stations.

The Comelec, however, said Erice made a “self-serving interpretation” of the law.

“A plain reading of Section 261(z)(11) of the OEC demonstrates that the prohibited act is not confined exclusively around voting centers. The provision categorically penalizes individuals who, for the purpose of disrupting or obstructing the election process or causing confusion among voters, propagate false or alarming reports or information regarding matters such as the general conduct of the election,” the ruling read.

Erice also insisted that he only made statements that were critical of the Comelec in line with his civic duty to point out lapses on the part of government officials, but the poll body said his remarks “transgressed the bounds of criticisms permitted by law.”

“Respondent deliberately makes baseless and unsubstantiated imputations of corruption against the commission and its officers,” the ruling added. “These relentless attacks erode public confidence in the commission and undermine its ability to fulfill its constitutional duty of safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.”

The Comelec argued that Erice’s repeated public call for the Comelec to reuse the decade-old machines supplied by Smartmatic “were not only intended to influence public opinion but also to create confusion and deceive voters about the integrity of the current electoral system.”

The Comelec disqualified Smartmatic from bidding in election contracts in November 2023, a move that the Supreme Court said amounted to abuse of discretion, yet it did not nullify the P18-billion contract between the poll body and Miru.

Smartmatic’s disqualification stemmed from its alleged involvement in a 2016 bribery scheme with former poll chairman Andres Bautista. The case is the subject of a complex investigation in the United States, since the funds passed through US financial channels.

Miru has a blemished reputation abroad, and is facing transparency issues here at home.

– Rappler.com