RTC Legazpi junks criminal case vs former mayor Rosal

By Rhaydz Barcia

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Regional Trial Court Branch 2 in Legazpi City has dismissed the criminal case against former Legazpi City Mayor Carmen Geraldine Barrameda-Rosal over an alleged violation of Section 261(v)(2) of the Omnibus Election Code.

In a 20-page decision penned by Presiding Judge Arnel P. Cezar and dated July 23, 2026, the court granted Rosal’s motion for reconsideration and reversed its earlier resolution dated May 14, 2026, which had denied her motion to quash.

The court ruled that Rosal’s constitutional rights to due process and the speedy disposition of cases were violated because of the prolonged delay in the filing and progression of the criminal case.

The decision noted that the key facts and evidence underlying the case had long been in the possession of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) following the filing of disqualification petitions on April 11, 2022.

“Wherefore, premises considered, the motion for reconsideration is granted. Accordingly, the resolution dated May 14, 2026 denying the motion to quash is hereby reconsidered and set aside,” the court said.

“Consequently, the motion to quash is granted. The information dated October 9, 2025, filed against accused Carmen Geraldine B. Rosal, is hereby quashed. Accordingly, the instant case is hereby dismissed,” Cezar said.

Criminal Case No. 18477, for alleged violation of Section 261(v)(2) of the Omnibus Election Code, was filed by Joseph Armogila, a political ally of the Ako Bicol Party-list, who ran for city councilor under the ticket of then congressional candidate Alfredo Garbin.

Garbin and Armogila both lost in the May 2022 local elections, with Rosal winning the mayoral race.

On April 11, 2022, Armogila filed two petitions for disqualification before the Comelec against the Rosal couple.

The first petition sought to disqualify Geraldine Rosal as a candidate for mayor of Legazpi City. At the time, she was a private citizen seeking election to the post.

The second petition sought to disqualify her husband, then former Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal, who was running for governor of Albay. Both petitions alleged that the Rosals violated Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code, or Batas Pambansa Blg. 881.

The Rosals eventually won the positions they sought in the 2022 elections.

In seeking to quash the criminal case, Rosal argued that the Comelec had been aware of the alleged election offense since the filing of the disqualification petitions in April 2022.

Cezar noted that once the Comelec had been notified of the alleged violation, the period for the government to act on the alleged offense had begun to run and the poll body was duty-bound to initiate a preliminary investigation.

The judge said this was because the alleged violation of Section 68 of the Omnibus Election Code could serve both as a ground for disqualification and as a criminal offense.

Under Section 269 of the Omnibus Election Code, the Comelec is required to give preferential attention to the investigation and prosecution of election offenses, the decision said.

Cezar also cited Comelec Resolution No. 9386, which allows the commission to initiate a preliminary investigation motu proprio.

Instead of simultaneously pursuing the administrative proceedings on the disqualification petitions and the preliminary investigation, which involve different standards of evidence, the Comelec limited itself to determining whether the disqualification petitions had merit, the decision said.

The court noted that about three years had passed before the alleged criminal offense underwent preliminary investigation, despite the absence of new evidence that would justify the delay.

The prolonged delay, the court ruled, violated Rosal’s constitutional rights to due process and speedy disposition of cases and constituted sufficient grounds to reverse its earlier ruling denying the motion to quash.

The RTC consequently quashed the information and dismissed Criminal Case No. 18477 against Rosal.