IT’S ONLY five months away before the filing of the Certificates of Candidacy (CoC) for those seeking an elective position in the 2022 elections. We are reminded of a proposed congressional measure filed two years ago seeking to slap a P100,000 fine upon nuisance candidates and those who conspire with them for the malicious filing of CoCs during elections.
The use of nuisance candidates has become a practice by some unscrupulous politicians as part of their ploy to undermine their political rivals. One prevalent modus was to field candidates with full names or surnames that are identical to that of their rivals.
Nuisance candidates are defined under the Omnibus Election Code as persons who files a CoC “to put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office.” They are turning the election into a circus.
But while Article 69 of the Omnibus Election Code or Batas Pambansa 881 gives the Commission on Elections (Comelec) the authority to cancel or refuse the CoC of one who is deemed a nuisance candidate, there is nothing in the law which stops them from repeatedly filing or causing the filing of their CoC.
And while nuisance candidates in the national elections are largely purged by the Comelec, there are still some who are obviously electoral nuisance who have succeeded in filing their CoCs.
So what could be done to address this mockery of the election process? There is a reasonable need to employ more measures to deter the practice of indiscriminately filing a certificate of candidacy just to mock the election or to attempt to shave off the votes of certain candidates.
As a deterrent to such practice, a penalty heavier than mere refusal of due course or cancellation of a CoC could be imposed upon those who maliciously file or cause the filing of the same.
The election is just around the corner. The circus is coming to town.
