Comelec: ‘Nuisance candidates’ can still appeal disqualifications

Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila. INQUIRER FILES

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday said it was merely following the law when it tagged more than a hundred senatorial aspirants as nuisance candidates and barred them from running in next year’s elections.

Comelec Chair George Garcia clarified in a radio station interview on Sunday that disqualified candidates can still appeal the matter to the Supreme Court, which has overruled the poll body’s disqualification in a number of cases in the past.

Of the 183 personalities who filed their certificates of candidacy for senator, the Comelec’s First and Second Divisions declared 117 as nuisance candidates.

READ: Matula’s party sad as Comelec declares their 9 Senate hopefuls nuisance

Currently, the total number of candidates initially approved by the Comelec to run for senator in the 2025 elections is 66—the highest in the six previous polls.

READ: 117 senatorial hopefuls disqualified for being nuisance candidates

The Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 881) mandates the Comelec to weed out “nuisance candidates,” known as fringe candidates in other countries, to ensure the integrity of an election.

The election law lays down the grounds for disqualification, which can always be elevated to the Supreme Court if a candidate feels aggrieved.

“None of the 117 senatorial aspirants have been declared nuisance by the Comelec because they have neither financial resources nor political organization to back up their campaign,” Garcia said in the interview with radio station dzBB.

“Our law department has conducted background checks on these candidates. We looked into their previous pronouncements. We checked if they are just making a mockery out of our election process or if they are really serious in their electoral run,” he added.

Among the 117 named nuisance by the Comelec were nine out of 10 of the senatorial aspirants under the Workers Party of the Philippines, which is led by labor leader Sonny Matula.

Only Matula was among the 66 senatorial contenders, whom the Comelec gave the approval to become official candidates and have their names included on the ballot.

The poll body said there were 17 pending motions for reconsideration before the commission en banc. Should the Comelec junk their motions, they can still appeal the decision before the Supreme Court.

But time is of the essence as the Comelec wanted to finalize the list of candidates by the end of November and start the printing of ballots in December. —Dexter Cabalza INQ