Comelec wants nuisance ruling vs bets like Francis Leo Marcos permanent
Nuisance candidate Francis Leo Marcos in this file photo during his arrest by the National Bureau of Investigation for alleged violations of the optometry law filed against him in Baguio City. | PHOTO: Marianne Bermudez/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — The nuisance candidate designation against a political aspirant should become permanent already, Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Wednesday.
Garcia floated this possibility after the recent overturn of the nuisance candidate declaration of internet personality Norman Mangusin, better known as Francis Leo Marcos, which allowed him to run, only for him to withdraw his Senate bid that led to the delay of ballot printing for midterm polls.
READ: SC summons for senatorial bet Francis Leo Marcos expected – Garcia
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday summoned Mangusin over his actions which the high court said “tend to bring the SC’s processes into disrepute or disrespect.”
READ: ‘Mahal ko ‘yan’: Francis Leo Marcos backs Sen. Imee’s reelection bid
“Hopefully, once you get declared as a nuisance, the declaration becomes permanent,” Garcia said in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.
Initially, the Comelec omitted Mangusin from the senatorial ballots after declaring him a nuisance candidate in November 2024.
On Jan. 21, the SC issued a temporary restraining order against Comelec, ordering the poll body to put Mangusin’s name on the ballot.
However, Mangusin withdrew his bid on Jan. 23, saying that he is backing the reelection of Sen. Imee Marcos.
The ballots for 2025 midterm polls would have seen two Marcoses , with Mangusin deciding to use his stage name.
A nuisance candidate is barred from running, but they could still file certificates of candidacies thereafter.
Garcia also noted that some nuisance candidates appear to be running “in bad faith.”
The Comelec chief said, for instance: “A local nuisance candidate may run to confuse names then asked to name his price [before backing out]. Once they get paid, they back out. Then, they will run again in the next elections. It just goes on and on.”
The most notable incident about this occurred in 2022, which led to Comelec invalidating the victory of then incumbent governor Henry Teves after the poll body credited the votes obtained by nuisance candidate Ruel Degamo to defeated gubernatorial candidate Roel Degamo.
Roel Degamo along with eight provincial staff members and constituents were killed while 16 others, including three provincial officials, were wounded in a gun attack in the governor’s residence in Pamplona town on March 4, 2023.
