Comelec: Nuisance bets’ appeals resolved this week

MANILA, Philippines — All pending motions for reconsideration filed by Senate aspirants declared as nuisance bets will be resolved this week, according to the Commission on Elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia yesterday said that the commission has so far approved the certificate of candidacy of 66 senatorial aspirants and declared 117 as nuisance.

He stressed that the Comelec does not declare an aspirant nuisance just because they are unknown, independent or lacking in financial resources.

In declaring a candidate nuisance, he said, the Comelec assesses whether the aspirant has no bona fide intention to run for public office and just making a mockery of the electoral process.

He said many of the 183 who filed their COC for senator are not serious in running for public office and appeared to just want to get the so-called 15 minutes of fame.

“We looked into their advocacies, proposals, and stand on issues,” Garcia pointed out noting that the 66 approved aspirants have proven that they are serious and legitimate candidates for senator.

Meanwhile, the automated election system (AES) to be used in the May 2025 midterm elections is soon undergoing a month-long international evaluation and certification, Comelec announced.

Garcia said the poll body is signing today the service contract for the “Independent Testing Services by an Established International Certification Entity” with Alabama-based technology company Pro V&V.

“Once we have the international certification, we can conduct our mock elections,” he added.

Pro V&V also conducted international certification in the 2019 and 2022 Philippine elections.

The special bids and awards committee previously reported that Pro V&V submitted the lone bid for the project with an amount of P127,120,455.

Under the Poll Automation Law, an international certification entity must be tapped by the Comelec to evaluate the AES and declare all components “operating properly, securely, and accurately.”

By Tuesday, Garcia said they expect all 110,000 automated counting machines (ACMs) to be used in next year’s polls to be completed with the delivery of the remaining 9,000 units.

Since all the machines would be delivered ahead of schedule, Garcia said Comelec will be able to conduct testing of the machines early.

He said 2,000 units of the ACMs have already been delivered to local Comelec offices nationwide for the roadshow to familiarize the public with the new features of the voting machines.