Kris’ ‘husband’ among nuisance candidates

MANILA, Philippines - Claiming a presidential sister as his “wife” was no guarantee of a slot in the 2013 senatorial race for a 52-year-old man.

Daniel Magtira of Tondo, Manila was among the 50 senatorial aspirants declared as “nuisance candidates” by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Resolution No. 9551.

Magtira’s certificate of candidacy was in effect canceled.

Magtira had indicated in his COC that his wife was Kris Aquino, a popular television host and the youngest sister of President Aquino.

After filing his COC last Oct. 6, Magtira said in an interview that if elected he intended to help his “brother-in-law” through legislation aimed at eliminating poverty and giving justice to those who have been wronged.

The Comelec said its “power to refuse, to give due course to or to cancel motu propio a COC is founded in our general power under Article IX-C of the 1987 Constitution to enforce and administer election laws.”

In Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC), nuisance candidates are those whose filing of COCs is deemed intended to “put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the COC has been filed and thus prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.” “There is a need to limit the number of candidates especially in the case of candidates for national positions because the election process becomes a mockery if those who cannot clearly wage a national campaign are allowed to run,” the OEC stated.

The Comelec also said including the names of nuisance candidates in the certified list of voters, voters information sheet, and in official ballots, would entail additional cost for the government.

Also declared as nuisance bet was veteran crooner Victor Wood, who became popular in the ’60s and ’70s for his hit songs “Crying Time,” “I Went to Your Wedding,” “I’m Sorry My Love” and “Eternally.” Wood and four fellow Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) members Alma Abella, Melchor Chavez, Norma Nueva, and Wenceslao Pancho were disqualified after their Certificates of Nomination and Acceptance (CONAs) were withdrawn by party president Jaime Opinion.

The other disqualified bet is Lacan Luisong Tagean Salam, 55, of Naga City, who claimed to have inherited the “whole archipelago and the whole Philippines” from his forebears.

One Manuel Po, a diehard fan of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., was disqualified for the nth time.

Three other candidates were declared disqualified largely due to their being not old enough to run for senator. A senatorial candidate must be at least 35 years old.

They are Remelyn Ajel, 32; Francis Leo Marcos, 33; and Johnny Chris Sy, 32.

A total of 84 COCs for senator have been filed with the Comelec but two of them – KBL’s Oliver Lozano and Virgilio Gundayao – have withdrawn.

Only 32 of the 84 filers made it to the official list.

They are Juan Edgardo Angara (Laban); Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal, and Ramon Magsaysay Jr. (Liberal Party); Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV; Cynthia Villar (Nacionalista Party) and Risa Hontiveros (Akbayan) and Sen. Aquilino Martin Pimentel III (PDP-Laban), all under the Malacañang-backed LP coalition.  

United Nationalist Alliance’s bets are Maria Lourdes Binay, Margarita Cojuangco, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Richard Gordon, Gregorio Honasan, Ernesto Maceda, Maria Milagros Esperanza Magsaysay, Juan Miguel Zubiri; and Juan Ponce Enrile Jr. (Nationalist People’s Coalition).

The three common candidates of LP and UNA are Loren Legarda (NPC) and independent bets Francis Joseph Escudero and Maria Grace Poe-Llamanzares.

The others are Greco Antonious Beda Belgica, son of former Manila councilor Butch Belgica; Baldomero Falcone, and Christian Señeres, son of former ambassador Roy Señeres, who are all running under the Democratic Party, the newest political party accredited by the Comelec. 

Also allowed to run were Ang Kapatiran’s John Carlos de los Reyes, Marwil Llasos, and Rizalito David; Makabayan’s Teodoro Casiño and Social Justice Society’s Samson Alcantara and independent bets Edward Hagedorn, Ramon Montaño and Ricardo Penson.