Cebu City mayor faces disqualification case before Comelec

Local

CEBU CITY Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who is seeking election in the May 12 elections, is facing a disqualification case for allegedly using public funds and calamity aid for political gain during the official campaign period.

The complaint, filed before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) by a certain Analiza Pilunes Maglasang, accuses Garcia of violating election laws by “hijacking” government-funded relief operations to promote his candidacy.

“Respondent caused the use of public funds, goods, or relief during the campaign period to further his interest,” the petition read.

“He ensured that, in the actual release of these funds, he would be present so the people would associate him and the release of these funds to them,” it added.

The complaint cites as evidence a March 11, 2025, rice distribution activity in Barangay Duljo-Fatima, which was led by Garcia despite the area not being among the mountain barangays earlier declared under a state of calamity due to the El Niño phenomenon.

According to the petition, Garcia appeared in the event, delivered a speech, and was photographed distributing sacks of rice, part of the 166,600 sacks procured by the Cebu City government under its P49.98-million disaster response program.

The petitioner argued that this event constituted a violation of Section 261(v)(2) of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits the use of public funds for social welfare activities during the 45-day campaign period if these are used to advance a candidate’s electoral prospects.

The petition also pointed to other government-funded assistance programs implemented during the campaign period, including the distribution of financial aid under the Cebu City Hospitalization Assistance and Medicines Program (CHAMP) on April 15, 2025.

Garcia, however, dismissed the complaint as “politically motivated” and “media propaganda,” claiming it was a desperate tactic by his opponents to damage his lead in the polls.

“Naa? Wala oy. Propaganda raman tawon na nila oy,” Garcia said in an interview on Tuesday, May 6.

“I don’t think it has been received. Naa na ang tibuok petition? Aysos. That’s just for media consumption, aron negative para nako. It’s politically motivated,” he added.

The mayor further claimed that his political opponents were behind the petition because he is leading in the surveys.

“First of all, they are not leading. Second, they are desperate, trying to pull me down because I am leading the survey. Obviously, I have been very, very careful in implementing programs that don’t violate [the law],” he said.

But the legal team behind the disqualification case said they are prepared to pursue the matter aggressively.

“We are deploying almost a hundred lawyers and paralegals all over the city with only one mission in mind: to document and file cases of vote buying, which is now rampant here in Cebu City,” said lawyer Amando Virgil D. Ligutan, one of the counsels for the complainant.

“This is a fair warning to all our government officials—do not use government resources in these elections. We will do everything we can to prosecute and have you disqualified. The full force of the law must be brought to bear on you,” Ligutan added.

Under Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code, any candidate found guilty of violating campaign prohibitions, including the illegal disbursement of public funds, may be disqualified from seeking or holding public office.

The petition, submitted to the Comelec on April 29, 2025, prays for Garcia’s disqualification, or in the alternative, the nullification of his election should he win.

The Comelec-Central Visayas has yet to issue a formal statement on the complaint as of this writing.

Garcia is running for his first full term as mayor after assuming the post in 2023 following former mayor Michael Rama’s suspension and eventual ouster.(TGP)