The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) junked the case filed by the woman who claimed to be the legal wife of Senator Raffy Tulfo and wanted him to be disqualified from his current position as a lawmaker.
In the resolution released on February 28, COMELEC denied the disqualification case filed by Julieta Licup Pearson, saying that there’s no valid ground to reverse the previous ruling in favor of Tulfo.
In 2021, Pearson filed a case against Tulfo because the latter declared ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Jocelyn Pua Tulfo as his wife instead of her.
Several photos of Tulfo and his alleged daughter to Pearson were also posted on social media.
“The two statements indicated by the respondent in his certificate of candidacy are both false, and the respondent is fully aware of these facts. JOCELYN PUA TULFO IS NOT HIS LEGAL WIFE,” Pearson said.
In 2019, Pearson also filed a bigamy case against the journalist-turned-senator saying that their marriage was still valid.
“Bigamy happens if you enter into another marriage with another person while your first marriage is still subsisting without acquiring a judicial declaration declaring the said first marriage null and void or through annulment,” Pearson’s lawyer Atty. Lifrendo Gonzales explained.
“In this case, there was no annulment, there was no nullity of marriage. So at the time that Mr. Raffy Tulfo entered into a second marriage, his first marriage is still subsisting.” he added.
It can be recalled that Tulfo admitted that she made a mistake in the past and had a child with another woman.
However, he said the woman was only trying to file cases against him because he didn’t follow her demand for money.
“Noong ako po ay isa pa lang struggling broadcaster o naghihikahos na mamamahayag, maraming taon nang nakararaan, I reached out to my daughter with her, at nagkita po kami ng aking anak sa kanya at ako po’y nagbigay ng tulong pinansiyal at mga regalo,” Tulfo said.
“She’s already married to a foreigner and she’s asking 100 million pesos or else gigibain daw niya ang buhay ko,” she added.