TARLAC CITY, Tarlac (Nov. 12, 2023) – The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced last Friday the disqualification of 21 candidates, including 10 who won in the Oct. 30 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE).
The poll body said that the BSKE candidates were disqualified after its First and Second Divisions found them liable for premature campaigning and vote buying.
Of the 21 disqualified candidates, seven were from Tarlac Province followed by four each in Batangas and Laguna, Pampanga with two, and Manila Quezon City, Rizal, and Maguindanao del Norte all with one each.
The COMELEC has not disclosed the names of the disqualified candidates, 10 of whom actually won – two Punong Barangays, three Barangay Kagawad, two SK Chairpersons, and three SK Councilors.
The candidates in Tarlac exclude the four candidates in Barangay San Vicente in Tarlac City – then incumbents Punong Barangay Nelson Maglanoc, Barangay Kagawad Raffy Roman, Marla Alarios, Danilo Usman, and Jose Santos IV – who were found guilty by the Ombudsman for grave misconduct and dishonesty and their candidacies canceled by the poll body four days before the elections.
According to the poll body, there are still 318 pending disqualification cases against BSKE candidates.
