In what can be a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has decided that the Commission on Elections erred when it canceled the Certificate of Candidacy of a certain Juan Ollesca in the 2022 presidential elections.
According to a report that came out in Philstar.com, the decision, promulgated on July 30, 2024 yet, said that a candidate should not be automatically considered a nuisance simply for lacking sufficient funds to finance a nationwide campaign.
“From the foregoing, it appears that the Comelec has the propensity to employ a "cookie-cutter motion" that generally alleges a candidate's lack of financial capacity to wage a national campaign in an attempt to shift the burden of proving bona fide intent to run for public office upon said candidate,” the ruling read.
Until now it seems that the Comelec doesn’t seem to have a set standard for determining who is a nuisance candidate and who isn’t. Those who don’t have political experience are allowed to run. Those who are clearly not qualified are allowed to run. But those deemed too poor or too “unknown” aren’t even given the ghost of a chance.
So what does this ruling by the highest court of the land mean for other hopefuls not just for the presidency, but for other public offices who were snubbed by Comelec?
We say this can be a landmark ruling because this may just compel the Comelec to reveal their actual criteria in considering someone a legitimate candidate for a certain position. It may even compel it to allow those they consider “unworthy” to run.
And considering the printing of ballots was stopped the other day after the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order, some of those who were considered nuisance candidates for this year’s midterm election may yet want to challenge Comelec’s decision so they can get on the final ballot.
Because from where we are looking the “ability to mount a credible national campaign” and having wide public recognition --meaning having mucho dinero and popularity with the masses, respectively-- are the only things they are considering when it comes to candidates.
It also tends to limit the playing field to only three general groups of people; the rich, those who can easily get connected with political parties or political dynasties, and those who are in sports or entertainment.