117 senatorial hopefuls disqualified for being nuisance candidates

Comelec Chair George Erwin Garcia —Inquirer/Niño Jesus Orbeta

MANILA, Philippines — The First and Second Divisions of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have disqualified 117 senatorial aspirants for being nuisance candidates based on the recommendation of the poll body’s law department.

“They were declared as nuisance [candidates] or [those without a] serious intent to run for election,” Comelec Chair George Garcia told reporters on Tuesday at the sidelines of the National Convention of Election Officers held in Pasay City.

READ: Comelec declares 47 bets nuisance candidates

Garcia added that of the 117 who had been declared as nuisance candidates, seven filed motions for reconsideration. They were Felipe Montealto Jr., a business consultant and law student from Miagao, Iloilo; lawyer Orlando de Guzman from San Carlos City, Pangasinan; entrepreneurs John Rafael Escobar from Quezon City, Fernando Diaz from Pasay City, and Dr. Luther Meniano from Mandaluyong City; salesperson Roberto Sembrano from Mandaue City, Cebu; and electrician-carpenter Alexander Encarnacion who also tried to run for senator in 2019 and for president in 2022.

Deadline set

De Guzman and Meniano are nominees of the Partido Pederal ng Maharlika while Diaz is running under the Partido Pilipino sa Pagbabago. On the other hand, Montealto, Escobar, Sembrano and Encarnacion are independents.

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Garcia said the Comelec en banc would resolve the motions for consideration by next week to give the aspirants enough time to elevate their cases before the Supreme Court should they wish to do so.

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According to the Comelec chief, nuisance petitions against local candidates are targeted for resolution by the end of the month.

Garcia earlier said that those declared as nuisance candidates may seek a restraining order from the Supreme Court so that they could still be included in the final list of candidates to be published on Dec. 13, and on the official ballots to be printed in the last week of December.

A total of 187 individuals filed certificates of candidacies (COCs) for the Senate during the filing period in Manila from Oct. 1 to Oct. 8. Of the 187, 66 were approved by the poll body as legitimate and valid candidates on Oct. 16.

According to section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code, a nuisance candidate is someone who filed a COC “to put the election process in mockery or disrepute, or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names; or in other circumstances, which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for office and to prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.”