CLAIM: Richard Gomez was disqualified for being a Duterte supporter.
RATING: FALSE
A TikTok video falsely claimed that Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez has been disqualified from seeking reelection in the May 2025 elections due to being a “Duterte supporter.”
The speaker in the video suggested that the disqualification case filed against Gomez before the Comelec is “harassment,” highlighting Gomez’s decision not to sign the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, and that a pro-Duterte rally was held in Ormoc City.
Mayor of Palompon, Ramon Oñate, on Mar. 17, 2025, filed a petition to disqualify against Gomez, not for being a Duterte supporter as the video falsely claims, but for allegedly spreading “malicious” content through his official Facebook page, Richard “GOMA” Gomez.
According to a press release by lawyer Emil Marañon III, Ońate’s legal counsel, Gomez violated Section 261(z)(11) of the Omnibus Election Code for sharing a video in which the host was allegedly “propagating electoral fake news.”
Gomez posted the video with the caption, “Palompon is poised to do grave and massive election cheating this coming May.”
As of writing, the Comelec has not yet issued a resolution on the petition.
The TikTok video drew 200,000 views, 8,669 likes and 1,040 comments. Regner Atutubo
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