MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has issued new temporary restraining orders (TROs) directing the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to allow two aspirants, Francis Leo Marcos and Noel Rosal, to run in the 2025 midterm elections.
At a press conference on Tuesday, January 21, Supreme Court spokesperson Camille Ting announced that the court en banc granted the TROs, enabling the two candidates to participate in the upcoming polls.
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Marcos, who is running for a Senate seat, was previously declared a nuisance candidate by the Comelec despite being allowed to run in the 2022 elections.
“The SC issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Comelec from declaring Marcos a nuisance candidate,” Ting said.
Meanwhile, Rosal, who is vying for the position of governor in Albay, faced disqualification after being dismissed from service by the Ombudsman—a penalty that carries permanent disqualification from holding public office.
“The SC issued a TRO preventing the Comelec from implementing the resolutions canceling Rosal’s COC,” Ting added.
What's next: Ballot reprinting
The Supreme Court has so far allowed 11 candidates to run in the 2025 elections after they were initially disqualified by the Comelec as nuisance candidates.
The first TRO was issued on January 14, allowing five candidates to run. This was followed by another TRO on January 17 for three additional aspirants seeking local positions. Prior to Tuesday’s ruling, the high court also issued a TRO permitting former Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes to run for reelection.
As a result of these rulings, Comelec was ordered to include these candidates’ names on the ballots.
The poll body halted ballot printing and shredded 6 million ballots already printed for the national elections, valued at ?132 million, according to Comelec Chairman George Garcia.
Garcia announced that ballot reprinting is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, January 22.