Comelec disqualifies Erice over false claims
The Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) Second Division has disqualified one of its fiercest critics, former Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, from running for his old seat in next year’s midterm polls.
Acting on the petition of Raymond Salipot, a registered voter from Antipolo City, Rizal, the division voted 3-0 to disqualify Erice for violating Section 261(z)(11) of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC).
Commissioners Marlon Casquejo, Rey Bulay and Nelson Celis signed the 11-page resolution dated Nov. 26, which was released to media early on Wednesday night.
Salipot said Erice violated Section 261(z)(11) by “deliberately spreading false and alarming reports and circulating misleading message[s] to disrupt the electoral process and cause confusion among voters.”
The cited provision is among the election offenses listed in the OEC and, according to Comelec Resolution No. 11046, issued by the poll body last Aug. 24, is one of the grounds for disqualification of candidates.
The petitioner submitted four news articles and four videos of media interviews with Erice as proof of the latter’s “well-documented and systematic pattern of making unsubstantiated yet disturbing and damaging statements” against the Comelec and the conduct of the 2025 elections.
The division said Erice “repeatedly” characterized the Philippines as a “guinea pig” in the upcoming elections, asserting that the automated counting machines and systems procured from Miru Systems Co. Ltd. were prototypes and have never been utilized in any election worldwide.
‘Rigged procurement’
Erice also “incessantly” declared the P18-billion Comelec contract with Miru as “highly anomalous” and the procurement process as “rigged,” claiming that custom-made specifications were used to justify price inflation.
He also claimed to have obtained evidence on offshore accounts, specifically targeting Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia, suggesting suspicious transactions with Miru, but Erice never gave any evidence.
In its ruling, the division said: “All statements made by [Erice] contradict verifiable and widely available facts from the Comelec and all sources across platforms. Glaring is the fact that there was not any modicum of evidence provided by respondent aside from bare statements in media. Hence, the information propagated by respondent on the general conduct of elections are false.”
“Respondent’s act of propagating false information across multiple platforms demonstrates his deliberate intent to disrupt elections rather [than] legitimate criticism. With the use of multiple media platforms to circulate these statements, he is amplifying their potential to cause public alarm, voter confusion and damage to the integrity of the electoral system in the country,” it added.
