Disqualification case vs Lucy Torres-Gomez junked

MANILA, Philippines — The second division of the Commission on Elections has dismissed the disqualification case filed against Leyte fourth district Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez.

The congresswoman is seeking reelection for a third term in the May polls.

However, Noelito Wagas and Jeffrey Dubal, who filed the disqualification case, claim that Gomez would be serving her fourth term if she wins the elections.

The petitioners are known supporters of Gomez’s rival Eufrocino Codilla Jr. They said Gomez had served her term as congresswoman from 2010 to 2013 even though she was later disqualified by the Supreme Court (SC).

In her defense, Gomez said the disqualification petition was baseless.

She said that after her victory in the 2010 elections was questioned and the high tribunal ruled that there was “lack of proper substitution,” she was dropped from the rolls of the House of Representatives.

Gomez, who ran as a substitute of her husband Richard, “was not a bonafide candidate and could not have been validly elected,” the SC said in its ruling.

Gomez won by 24,701 votes over Codilla in the 2010 elections.

When she ran again in 2013, Gomez won by more than 35,000 votes against a younger brother of Codilla, Eufrocino, who was mayor of Ormoc City at the time.

In the 2016 polls, Gomez won by more than 53,000 votes against Codilla’s sister-in-law, Violy.