Comelec dismisses COC cancellation plea vs. Tapaz bet

By Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — The Commission on Elections has dismissed a petition filed by former Tapaz mayor and now Vice Mayor Roberto Palomar seeking to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of his rival in the last midterm elections.

Atty. Wil Arceño, provincial election supervisor and assistant election director of Comelec Region VI, confirmed that the Comelec Second Division denied Palomar’s petition against Ruskin Biñas Falsis for lack of merit.

Palomar alleged that Falsis was unqualified to run for public office due to a lack of residency in Tapaz, citing his status as a permanent resident in the United States.

He based his petition on Falsis’ execution of an Affidavit of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Residency Status dated Oct. 4, 2024.

Arceño said Falsis had demonstrated her intention to reestablish residency in Tapaz even before filing the affidavit.

She renovated her house and regularly paid property taxes in the municipality, which the Comelec considered as evidence of her intent to reestablish domicile.

In its resolution, the Comelec Second Division stated it was “convinced that the respondent’s return was not transient but with the intent to establish domicile in the Philippines.”

The decision cited her stay at her ancestral home in Tapaz, property renovation, continuous payment of property taxes, and reactivation of her voter registration.

In the May 2025 elections, Palomar received 17,917 votes, defeating Falsis, who garnered 10,864 votes in the vice mayoral race.

His running mate, Dante Palomar, also won the mayoral race with 14,594 votes.

His opponents, Aisa Exmundo and former Vice Mayor Somo Rommel, received 9,669 and 6,080 votes, respectively.