Comelec to regulate nuisance bets

MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will come up with guidelines on how it can regulate nuisance candidates, especially for the presidential post, in the May 2016 polls.

Chairman Andres Bautista said that while it is Comelec’s “ministerial responsibility” to accept certificates of candidacy (COC), the poll body will need rules to curb the entry of nuisance bets.

One guideline being considered is a candidate’s capability to mount a national campaign.

“I already asked our lawyers to research, look at jurisprudence, to see what would classify or qualify as a nuisance candidate as opposed to a viable candidate,” Bautista told reporters.

Every presidential election, the Comelec is flooded with COC filers who are often categorized as nuisance. Some of these filers are considered “habitual” since they file their certificates in almost all presidential races.

In the 2010 presidential polls, only 10 presidential aspirants were declared qualified by the Comelec.

“We don’t want it to become a mockery. We should disallow candidates that would impact the solemnity of Comelec proceedings and the way (we) conduct the general elections,” Bautista said.

In coming up with guidelines, the poll chief said that Comelec would respect the basic right of every Filipino to seek public office and not trample on it.

“We want to have a greater order in the way we do things during the filing of COCs. We want to ensure that there is order. We also want to make sure that it is done properly,” he said.

Those who want to be elected for a national post in May 2016 will only have from Oct. 12 to 16 to file their COCs.