Last March 23, 2025, the COMELEC’s First Division dismissed the disqualification petition filed by former Mayor Sinforoso M. Sarmiento Jr. against Governor Joseph C. Cua for a procedural lapse.
According to the order, the petitioner failed to comply with the requirement of COMELEC Resolution No. 11046 that such petitions shall contain the correct information of both parties and counsel.
The Commission stressed that it is incumbent upon the petitioner to attach a copy of the respondent’s Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) as the sole proof of the correct information as required by the rules.
Almost immediately after excerpts of the decision came out on social media, Sarmiento went on air to say that he had hoped that the Commission would be liberal in its interpretation of the rules, that in effect it would not require attachment of Cua’s CoC.
Many political observers found his explanation not too believable, considering he and his partner lawyer are not exactly amateurs in election cases.
The implication, of course, is that the former mayor, who is locked in a tight battle with Cua for the mayorship of Virac, wants to keep the latter’s citizenship issue for the duration of the campaign.
It would not be too presumptuous to expect that the same CoC has not been attached in a similar petition filed against Vice Governor Peter C. Cua by his closest opponent, Dr. Patrick Alaine T. Azanza.
Grizzled veterans of political wars on the island, as well as majority of the electorate, believe that the issue is moot and academic, with most of them having voted for the brothers ever since they entered provincial politics.
This is just par for the course in Catanduanes politics, if we borrow a golfing term.
Both petitioners apparently believe that among the biggest issues against the Cua brothers is their Chinese parentage, which the former university president is allegedly exploiting to the hilt in his house-to-house campaign by introducing himself as “Filipino ako, bakong Intsik.”
Others, including two former governors, have resurrected the fake news that hundreds of Chinese have invaded the island province under the Cua administration.
The implied racism in his spiel ranks up there with the black propaganda of the early 2000s – plastic sachets of “tawas” and leaftlets linking the governor to illegal drugs” – that was peddled by their opponents.
On the other hand, the retaliation from the Capitol candidates has been low key: a “pantomina” song hitting on “duwende” and “silencio sana ta daing nahinimo.”
For now, the campaign skirmishes have been limited to sound-system trucks blaring jingles, posting of tarpaulins and rallying their respective barangay ward leaders to make sure their listed voters do not go to the other side.
As of this time, there is no telling whether campaign propaganda, black or otherwise, would sway voters into one camp or the other the same way that the last-minute “ayuda” changes political fortunes.
Candidates, especially those who are incumbents or have held public posts in the past, should let their respective propaganda teams do their work in the background and, instead, focus on convincing each voter that he or she has done something good for the people.
Past and present performance, along with misdeeds, are a much better gauge of how the aspirant would do once he or she wins this May 12.
Let us hope that the candidates and their attack dogs do not stoop to the level of gutter language, outright lies, disinformation and violence just to ensure victory.