Comelec drops vote-buying complaint against Camille Villar
The Commission on Elections said that it has dropped the complaint against senatorial candidate and Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar for alleged vote-buying after receiving a "satisfactory explaination" from her.
On her Facebook page, Villar shared a copy of the letter she received from Comelec Committee on Kontra Bigay Vice Chairperson Teopisto Elnas Jr. stating that they are no longer pursuing the case as she managed to sufficiently explain the circumstances surrounding the alleged vote-buying incident.
Villar was embroiled in controversy when she was seen participating in a campaign sortie that included a cash raffle event in Imus, Cavite. The said event was uploaded on the Facebook page of mayoral candidate Alex Advincula on Feb. 12 and on Team AJAA Imus page on Feb. 16, after the campaign period had started on Feb. 11.
"You countered that the said event referred to is a promotional event of ALLTV2 Network, where you were merely invited as guest. Several Affidavits of Attestation were likewise submitted to attest that the event indeed occurred on 9 February 2025 and was belatedly posted on social media on the reported date of 16 February 2025," Elnas Jr. said.
"Upon evaluation of the evidence gathered, the undersigned deems the same insufficient to proceed to the filing of a complaint for election offense and/or a petition for disqualification," he added.
Villar said that she is "pleased" to share the dismissal of the allegations against her for lack of basis.
"From the very beginning, I stood firm that no laws were broken. The truth is clear: the event in question was held before the official campaign period and was a legitimate promotional activity, not a political one," she stressed.
"I remain focused on serving the people with integrity, commitment, and purpose," she added.
Villar, daughter of the richest Filipino tycoon Manny Villar, is the first candidate running for a national position to have been issued a show cause order. She is an incumbent Las Piñas congresswoman and is now eyeing a senate seat under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas senatorial lineup.
