Nuisance bets ‘in bad faith’ must be penalized, says Comelec chief

Commission on Elections Chairperson George Erwin Garcia (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA)
MANILA, Philippines — Nuisance candidacies “in bad faith” should face criminal liability to learn their lesson, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday.
“Paano kung yung isa paulit-ulit na nagfa-file ng candidacy at pagkatapos paulit-ulit na nagpapabayad sa isang kandidato na naapektuhan ang kanyang pagtakbo o di kaya pinatakbo siya para magulo yung mismong kandidato na kapangalan nya,” Garcia said in the sidelines of the unveiling of ballot faces in Comelec warehouse in Biñan, Laguna.
(What if an aspirant repeatedly files his candidacy and repeatedly gets paid by a politician to affect the candidacy of some candidates or disrupt the candidacy of an aspirant with the same name.)
“Hindi po ba bad faith and therefore yan ay dapat actionable. Dapat yan, may criminal liability,” Garcia added.
(Isn’t it done in bad faith and therefore, it should be actionable. There should be criminal liability.)
Article continues after this advertisementGarcia also said that the nuisance candidates must be fined, if not jailed, “to learn their lesson.”
Article continues after this advertisementHe added thatthe provision of the Omnibus Election Code on nuisance candidates must be amended should the criminalization of such candidates push through.
In 2018, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed Senate Bill No. 911 which sought to penalize aspirants who will use the filing of certificates of candidacy as a platform to disrespect the electoral process.
A similar measure, House Bill No. 9557, was approved on third reading in the House of Representatives in 2021.
The SC issued temporary restraining orders last Tuesday to the election body on the cases of five aspirants, leading to the immediate halting of the printing of ballots.
The Comelec, which started printing ballots last January 6, produced approximately six million ballots already.
The High Court recently reversed the initial ruling of the election body declaring senatorial aspirant Subair Guinthum Mustapha and Norman Mangusin, or known as Francis Leo Marcos, as nuisance candidates.