MANILA — The Commission on Elections has junked the petition seeking to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of Senate aspirant and broadcaster Raffy Tulfo, the survey frontrunner.

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In an ambush interview Wednesday, Comelec acting chairperson Socorro Inting told reporters that the petition filed by a certain Julieta Pearson last Oct. 25 has been dismissed.

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Pearson in 2019 claimed she is the "legal wife" of Tulfo, saying they married in 1982.

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She also filed before the Quezon City prosecutor's office a bigamy case against the broadcaster, who is now married to Jocelyn Tulfo, a sectoral representative in Congress.

Tulfo had earlier tagged the case as "extortion."

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In the Comelec petition filed by Pearson, she claimed Tulfo committed material misrepresentation in his COC when he listed Jocelyn as his wife.

Earlier, election lawyer Emil Marañon said Pearson's accusation was "not a ground for cancellation."

"The name of the spouse in the COC is not a 'material fact' as it is not one of the qualifications to run for public office. In Lluz vs. Comelec (G.R. No. 172840, June 7, 2007), the SC ruled only matters of qualification and eligibility can be litigated in a cancellation case," he said.

Inting said there was no misrepresentation in Tulfo's COC.

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