MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has urged voters to file charges against candidates with questionable personalities who will join in the 2025 midterm elections.
According to Comelec chairman George Erwin Garcia, voters must file either a disqualification case or cancellation of certificate of candidacy during the period of filing, when the jurisdiction is still with the poll body.
“’Yung mga kababayan natin, ‘yung mga kalaban ng kandidato, marapat po sana na kung sa inyong palagay ay hindi po karapat-dapat ang isang kandidato, marapat po sana na makapag-file kayo (ng kaso),” Garcia said.
“Pwede namang disqualification or cancellation of candidacy, pero sana po, during the period of filing. Kasi po kung labas po ng period, wala na pong jurisdiction ang Comelec doon,” he added.
Garcia’s statement came amid the issues surrounding Bamban, Tarlac’s Mayor Alice Guo, whose identity is being questioned after saying before that she has forgotten or has no knowledge of her personal details like her place of birth and name of school attended.
The Comelec chair has previously said that no one challenged Guo’s candidacy in the 2022 national elections, allowing her to run and eventually win as Bamban town mayor.
Meanwhile, Garcia has rejected the idea of giving the Comelec discretionary powers to approve or reject a Certificate of Candidacy (COC) applicant.
“Parang masisira naman po ‘yung pinaka-nature ng filing ng Certificate of Candidacy. Talaga pong dapat ay walang discretion (ang Comelec) kung tatanggapin o hindi,” Garcia said./PN
