KALIBO, Aklan – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) declared mayoralty bet Ludovico Chu Villaruel Jr. of Balete, Aklan a “nuisance candidate” this May 13 elections.
The poll agency ordered Villaruel’s disqualification after incumbent Balete town mayor Dexter Mationg Calizo filed an election protest.
Aklan Provincial Election supervisor Elizabeth Doronilla said Villaruel’s name is still in the official ballot and the votes that he get will not be counted.
Comelec second division, chaired by Luie Tito Guia, denied Villaruel’s certificate of candidacy (COC) last May 9.
Guia said he has no organizational structure and machinery to support a municipal-wide campaign. Villaruel also was not able to established residence in the specified address of his filed COC.
The Omnibus Election Code defines nuisance candidates as those who file certificate of candidacies “in mockery of the election process; 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 that candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the COC has been filed.” (With a report from Akean Forum/PN)
