Disqualified bets with pending SC appeals can’t be included on ballots

/ 05:57 PM January 21, 2025

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) cannot include disqualified candidates with cases pending before the Supreme Court (SC) on the ballots, citing executory decisions and ballot length.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said this on Thursday, emphasizing that even if hundreds of aspirants whose candidacies were canceled or disqualified take their cases to the SC, it does not mean the poll body will include all their names on the ballots.

READ: Comelec to comply with SC’s TROs, even if it delays ballot printing

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“Hindi po ba mayroon kaming tinatawag na executory decision kapag lumipas ang panahon na hindi nakakakuha ng TRO (temporary restraining order),” Garcia said in the sidelines of the unveiling of new ballot faces at the Comelec warehouse in Biñan, Laguna.

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(Isn’t there something we call an executory decision when a TRO is not obtained within a certain period.)

“And therefore, ‘pag walang TRO, ipapatupad po namin ‘yun,” Garcia added.

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(And therefore, if there is no TRO, we will enforce that.)

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He also noted that the ballot, which initially included 66 senatorial candidates and 155 party-list groups for the national posts, was already long. He said that including the nuisance candidates would make the list even longer.

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Garcia added that the poll body cannot simply avoid making decisions on cases just to prevent SC appeals and TROs, as this would go against their duties.

“We have to decide the cases regardless of the beliefs of everybody; basta naniniwala kami sa (we believe in) law and jurisprudence and facts. We will have to decide the case,” Garcia said.

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Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal said on Sunday that including the names of disqualified candidates with pending SC appeals would prevent ballot printing delays and reduce the risk of wasting Comelec funds.

READ: Comelec urged to list disqualified bets with SC appeals on ballot

Last Tuesday, the SC issued temporary restraining orders to the poll body regarding the cases of five poll aspirants, halting the printing of ballots. The poll body, which began printing ballots on January 6, had already produced approximately six million by that time.

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The SC recently reversed the poll body’s initial ruling declaring senatorial aspirants Subair Guinthum Mustapha and Norman Mangusin, also known as Francis Leo Marcos, as nuisance candidates.

TAGS: 2025 elections, Philippine Elections

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