Unknown, party-less political aspirants not nuisance bets, SC rules
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has ruled that “unpopularity and non-membership in a political party” are not sufficient grounds for the Commission on Elections to declare an aspirant as a nuisance candidate.
In resolving the Petition for Certiorari filed by 2022 senatorial aspirant Norman Cordero Marquez, the SC en banc unanimously partly granted his plea and nullified the Comelec En Banc that denied his appeal on the poll body’s resolution declaring him as a nuisance candidate.
“All told, there was no cogent reason for the Comelec to deny Marquez the opportunity to run for Senator,” the SC said in a decision penned by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier and promulgated June 28 but made public only Saturday.
Associate Justices Henri Jean Paul Inting and Antonio Kho Jr. took no part in the ruling.
“His palpable intent cannot be negated by unsubstantiated claims that he is an unknown, or that he lacks the capacity to mount a nationwide campaign. Neither is his non-membership in a political party sufficient to declare him a nuisance candidate,” the SC said.
However, the SC has declared as moot Marquez’s prayer to include his name in the official ballots for senator in the 2022 national elections.
“To avoid a recurrence of similar incidents in the future, the Comelec is strongly urged to adopt a practicable plan or timeline to ensure that all cases which may result in the exclusion of a candidate from the ballot are resolved at the earliest possible time,” the SC told the poll body.
Second time to run
It was Marquez’s second time to run for a Senate seat in the 2022 national elections, after a failed bid in 2019 where the Comelec also cancelled his Certificate of Candidacy.
In the 2019 SC case, the Comelec Law Department, motu propio, filed a petition to declare him as nuisance candidate, arguing that he is “virtually unknown” across the country, and absent proof of financial capability, he “will not be able to sustain the financial rigors of a nationwide campaign” despite stating he is a real estate broker.
The SC eventually granted his petition and held that the Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion in declaring him as a nuisance candidate for failure to prove financial capacity to mount a nationwide campaign.
For his 2022 bid, the Comelec declared him a nuisance candidate stating he is “not virtually known to the entire country” and is running as senator “without being officially nominated by any political party.”
But Marquez asserted that he has been actively been campaigning for five years already, and being an animal welfare advocate and co-founder of Baguio Animal Welfare, Cordillera, he also went around the country.
Marquez secured a temporary restraining order from the SC on January 19, but he told the court the Comelec proceeded with the printing of ballots that did not include his name.
The court’s ruling
The SC disagreed with the Comelec’s declration of Marquez as a nuisance candidate because he is virtually unknown and has no political party to help him become known to the electorate.
The high court pointed out that the Comelec based its disqualification of Marquez based on his “perceived lack of capacity to wage a successful election campaign,” which the SC said are “shrouded property qualifications.”
“In other words, the attempt of the COMELEC to pass off the inability of Marquez to wage an election campaign as an indication of lack of bona fide intent to run for office is unconstitutional and will not be allowed by the Court,” the decision read.
The SC also said the poll body “unfairly shifted to Marquez the burden of proving his genuine intention to run for office,” despite the aspirant having ran for the second time and seeking judicial remedy when he was first declared as nuisance candidate. Marquez also crafted a Program of Governance should he win the polls.
“It is contrary to human experience that a candidate would go through such rigorous process, not once but twice, if he or she has actually no intent to run,” the ruling read.
On the basis that Marquez is virtually unknown to the country, the SC said that this makes the “electoral process—a sacred instrument of democracy—to a mere popularity contest.”
No contempt
Marquez also sought to have the Comelec cited in contempt when it supposedly defied the court’s TRO.
But the SC said the Comelec “has sufficiently demonstrated that it was not impelled by a desire to disrespect the authority of the Court” but it only sought to ensure the timely conduct of the 2022 national elections when it proceeded with poll preparations.
The court however still noted that Marquez was deprived of opportunity to field his senatorial candidacy twice although his pleadings were promptly filed.
“Thus, to avoid a recurrence of similar incidents in the future, the Comelec is strongly urged to adopt a practicable plan or timeline to ensure that all cases which may result in the inclusion or exclusion of a candidate from the ballot are resolved at the earliest possible time,” it added.
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