Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian moved on Thursday to amend the Election Code and impose sanctions to keep out “nuisance” candidates in future elections.
Gatchalian was prompted to push early enactment of the remedial legislation after noting “the numerous nuisance candidates who filed certificates of candidacy for senator” in the upcoming 2019 midterm elections.
The lawmaker prodded Congress to front-load passage of Senate Bill 911 to “institutionalize the definition of nuisance candidates and hold them liable for election offenses.”
Once enacted into law, Gatchalian said SB 911 will amend pertinent provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, noting that, while the Commission on Elections is mandated by law to receive certificates of candidacy (COCs) as its ministerial duty, “the onslaught of candidates who do not intend to launch a viable campaign is wasting the precious time and resources of [the] Comelec [Commission on Elections].”
The senator cited, for instance, recent events that prompted filing the remedial legislation.
“We may have all witnessed in the past the influx of some half-serious candidates, like a candidate from Cebu who calls himself Jesus Christ, or even the exes of Kris Aquino and Mocha Uson. There was even a candidate who called himself King of Nobility. We all hope to end all these antics and cleanse the political process right from the very beginning,” he said.
Gatchalian clarified that, while the 1987 Constitution guarantees equal access to opportunities for public service, he recalled the Supreme Court ruled that running for public office is a privilege and “not a right.”
“We are glad that there are a lot of people who want to be involved in nation-building by offering themselves to be public servants,” the senator said, even as he pointed out that aspiring to be elected to public office is subject to the limitations imposed by law and must take into account practical considerations.
Gatchalian’s bill, once enacted into law will “penalize people who do not take this privilege seriously and merely use the certificate of candidacy filing period as a platform to disrespect our electoral process.”
As provided in SB 911, he explained, the Comelec may cancel a COC if, after affording due process to the filing party, it finds that said certificate was filed “to obtain money, profit or any other consideration.”
Moreover, “any person who is found by the Comelec to have filed a COC to put the election process in mockery or disrepute; cause confusion among voters by similarity of the names of the registered candidates; obtain money, profit or any other consideration; or under any other circumstances or acts clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for office, shall be guilty of an election offense and shall face a P50,000 fine,” Gatchalian added.
He voiced hopes that urgent passage of the remedial legislation can be frontloaded by both chambers of Congress, so it can be quickly enacted into law to keep out nuisance candidates planning to file COCs in the coming elections.