Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 16) — The Commission on Elections’ second division has disqualified a winning Legazpi City councilor for allegedly taking part in a cash assistance payout during the 2022 campaign period.
Comelec said City Councilor Al Barizo was found liable for violating the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds by a public official 45 days before election day.
The poll body looked into a Facebook post posted on Mar. 31, 2022 which purportedly showed Barizo and other candidates participating in a two-day Tricycle Drivers’ Cash Assistance Payout during the prohibited period.
It said the councilor admitted to participating in the activity while arguing that it was only a continuation of a cash assistance program. But the Comelec Second Division argued that Barizo was heading the city’s Committee on Public Utilities and Energy (Transportation) at that time so he had the \”impetus to push for the cash dole-out intended for tricycle drivers.\”
“Further, as a then-incumbent councilor, he was ‘in a position to influence local legislation to favor the transportation sector.’ Even if he is not proven to have a hand in the illegal release or disbursement of public funds during the prohibited period, he surely was a prominent figure in the expenditure of those funds when those were handed out to the tricycle driver-beneficiaries,” Comelec quoted.
Barizo now shares the same fate as his party-mates former Albay Governor Noel Rosal and Legazpi Mayor Geraldine Rosal, who were both disqualified by Comelec after their win.
Last week, Comelec affirmed with finality the disqualification of Mayor Rosal for her involvement in the same cash assistance payout that coincided with the 45-day election spending ban. But the Supreme Court later issued an order that effectively reinstates Rosal and temporarily stops former Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. from assuming the post.
RELATED: SC halts disqualification of Legazpi mayor Rosal
