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Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez questions a resource person during the Congress quad comm hearing on extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration, on October 11, 2024.
House of Representatives
The petition to disqualify Gomez from the midterm elections is filed by Palompon, Leyte mayoral bet William Oñate
MANILA, Philippines — Leyte 4th District Representative Richard Gomez is facing a disqualification case over allegations that he spread “malicious and false” information about the upcoming elections.
According to a Philippine News Agency report, the petition was filed by Palompon, Leyte mayoral bet William Oñate before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday, March 17, aiming to disqualify Gomez from the May 12 midterm elections.
Gomez is seeking reelection, his second term as district representative, in the May elections. His wife, actress Lucy Torres-Gomez, is also running again for mayor of Ormoc City. [READ: Celebrities who won seats, lead races in 2022 elections]
The petition claims that Gomez violated Section 261(z)(11) of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC) by sharing a video from a local radio program Krusada sa Radyo on his verified Facebook page. The video, hosted by John Kevin Pilapil and uploaded on DYRG 101.5 FM Blue Radio, allegedly contained misleading accusations against members of the Electoral Board (EB) in Palompon. Gomez captioned his post: “Palompon is poised to do grave and massive election cheating this coming May.”
The petition states that Gomez not only shared but also amplified the video by reposting it on his official campaign platform, “Richard ‘GOMA’ Gomez,” with over 700,000 followers.
“By doing so, he did not only propagate the malicious post to his followers and to all Facebook users, but he moved it to the top of the list, increasing its visibility and potentially reigniting interest or conversation,” the petition reads.
During the radio program, Pilapil accused EB members of being directly related to certain candidates for mayor, councilor, and other local government positions. He also allegedly threatened an election officer and accused her of bribery.
According to an Inquirer News report, Oñate’s counsel Maranon said that “under Section 261 (z) (11) of the Omnibus Election Code, propagating false and alarming reports/news to the general public is an election offense.”
Oñate also urged the Comelec to declare votes for Gomez as stray or invalid and to proclaim the legitimate winner if the disqualification case is resolved with finality before May 12.
In response, Gomez welcomed the filing, a GMA News Online report said. He said that disqualification cases are “used as a smokescreen to deflect attention from a candidate’s own misconduct or simply to cause disruption during the election process.” He also pointed out that election-related cases can be filed against any candidate by anyone, no matter how “baseless” the claims may be. – Rappler.com
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