The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has dismissed the disqualification petition against House Deputy Speaker Camille Villar over alleged vote-buying, effectively clearing her to continue her Senate campaign.
The complaint, filed before the COMELEC Task Force Kontra-Bigay, stemmed from an event reportedly held in February where Villar was accused of engaging in vote-buying activities. The task force had issued a show cause order on April 22, asking Villar to respond to the allegations.
In her defense, Villar maintained that the event occurred before the official start of the campaign period, which meant that no election laws were violated at the time. COMELEC accepted this explanation, finding no sufficient legal basis to proceed with disqualification.
The ruling emphasized that the timing of the event was a crucial factor, noting that campaign regulations only apply within the official campaign period set by the poll body.
Following the dismissal of the case, Villar expressed gratitude to COMELEC for what she called a fair and just decision.
