Alien? Aga wants DQ petition junked

MANILA, Philippines - Actor Ariel “Aga” Muhlach yesterday asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to junk a petition for disqualification filed against him “for its utter lack of merit” and for violating his constitutional rights.

In an affidavit that he personally filed with the Comelec, Muhlach said the petition of one Gilmar Pacamarra, of Barangay San Antonio, San Jose, Camarines Sur, also violates the “constitutional provision that ‘bona fide candidates for any public office shall be free from any form of harassment and discrimination’.”

“The petition amounts to nothing more than politically motivated harassment by the petitioner and his principals, and is clearly an attempt to fabricate an issue that will taint the otherwise untarnished image of the respondent,” the petition stated.

Muhlach was accompanied by his wife, television host Charlene Gonzales, and his lawyer Romulo Macalintal. He is running for congressman of the fourth district of Camarines Sur under the Liberal Party.

Pacamarra had sought Muhlach’s disqualification on the ground that he made “false material representation” in his certificate of candidacy that he is a Filipino citizen when in fact he is holding dual citizenship, including Spanish.

According to Macalintal, the petitioner was misleading Comelec that Muhlach undertook the application process to acquire his Spanish citizenship.

“These allegations are absolutely false. It is petitioner who is making false material representation in the instant petition. The truth is that respondent never claimed that he acquired Spanish citizenship by origin,” he noted.