SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union, Philippines - – The House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) has affirmed the victory of La Union’s 2nd district Rep. Eufranio Eriguel in the May 2010 elections.
The tribunal denied for lack of merit the motion for reconsideration filed by defeated congressional candidate Thomas Dumpit Jr.
In a five-page resolution released last Feb. 6, which The STAR obtained, HRET rejected Dumpit’s petition to set aside its Dec. 1, 2011 ruling dismissing his election protest against Eriguel due to alleged fraud.
“The tribunal does not see any compelling ground to depart from its (Dec. 1, 2011) ruling. The tribunal notes protestee’s comment and denies his motion for reconsideration for lack of merit,” the HRET ruling said.
HRET said the evidence presented by Dumpit did not prove the allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities against Eriguel.
Eriguel, a doctor by profession, garnered 121,236 votes while Dumpit has total votes of 63,622 or a difference of 57,709 votes.