The Commission on Elections (Comelec) refused to comment on the Supreme Court (SC) ruling that it gravely abused its discretion junking the petition for disqualification lodged against then gubernatorial candidate and current Cagayan Governor Manuel M. Mamba.

In a Viber message to reporters on Monday night, Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the poll body has yet to read the decision.

“The petition was dismissed on technicality by the Comelec en banc,” Garcia said.

“Maybe the SC wants a decision on the merits that’s why it was returned to us. Hence, it’s [important] to know what is the basis of the decision,” he added.

On 16 April, the SC en banc, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez, granted the petition for certiorari by Ma. Zarah Rose de Guzman-Lara challenging the Comelec en banc’s dismissal of her petition to disqualify Mamba from the May 2022 local elections.

It also remanded the case to Comelec en banc for proper disposition of De Guzman-Lara’s petition for disqualification against Mamba.

De Guzman-Lara and Mamba were candidates for the position of governor of Cagayan.

On 10 May 2022, De Guzman-Lara filed through email a petition to disqualify Mamba on the grounds of massive vote buying and unlawful disbursement of public funds.

On 11 May 2022, the Provincial Board of Canvassers proclaimed Mamba as the duly elected governor of Cagayan after garnering the highest number of votes.

The Comelec’s Second Division, however, subsequently issued a Resolution on 14 December 2022, disqualifying Mamba after finding substantial evidence that Mamba violated Section 261(v) of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits unauthorized release, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds during the campaign period.

This was reversed by the Comelec en banc, which dismissed De Guzman-Lara’s petition to disqualify Mamba for being filed out of time.