Another nuisance candidate asks Supreme Court’s help
The Supreme Court building in Manila. INQUIRER PHOTO / NIرO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines — Another senatorial bet declared a nuisance is not calling it quits yet as he filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday to challenge the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s designation.
Felipe Fernandez Montealto Jr. sought the high court’s temporary restraining order against Comelec’s ruling declaring him a “nuisance candidate.”
“Petition was successfully filed, thus beating the five days reglementary required by the Rules,” Montealto told INQUIRER.net in a text message.
Montealto moved after the Comelec en banc rejected his motion for reconsideration (MR).
READ: Senatorial aspirant declared a nuisance bet contests Comelec move
Article continues after this advertisementHe is among the 21 senatorial aspirants who challenged the nuisance candidate declaration of the poll body’s two divisions. The Comelec en banc rejected all of their MRs.
Article continues after this advertisementTime is of the essence for Montealto as Comelec remains firm that it will begin the printing of ballots on Dec. 13.
To date, only 66 out of 183 aspirants are included in the list of senatorial hopefuls.
READ: Comelec releases initial list of 66 bets for 2025 Senate race
READ: LIST: Full list of 183 senatorial aspirants for 2025 polls
This is not the first time a nuisance candidate challenged Comelec’s designation before SC.
In 2021, Comelec denied Norman Marquez’s senatorial bid for being “virtually unknown” and having no political party, but the SC, in its 20-page decision in June 2022, said any Filipino who runs for public office cannot be deemed a “nuisance” and disqualified for lack of fame, money, or party machinery.
Marquez’s matter was already moot back then, but the high court said it found it necessary to resolve the case because “the same situation may recur in future elections.”
