CALBAYOG CITY, Samar — At least 15 identified nuisance candidates in Samar province simultaneously withdrew their certificates of candidacy (COC).
The candidates formally backed out from their political bids on Saturday in the presence of Samar provincial election officer Corazon Montallana. The candidates voluntarily filed their statement of withdrawal.
During the last day of COC filing, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office received more than a dozen COC applications from nuisance candidates. They bear the same surnames of candidates from legitimate parties.
In an interview, Montallana said from 2010 to 2016 elections, she has observed of such cases in the province.
“As I observed, said act continued because every election, the said nuisance candidates increase in number,” she told reporters. “I want this to stop because it becomes a culture that is not good to the entire province.”
Some unknown candidates bear the surnames of Tan, Sarmiento, Zosa, and Bolastig.
The Comelec identified Milagrosa Tan and Emil Zosa as legitimate candidates for the position of Governor, Edgar Mary Sarmiento and Stephen James Tan as candidates for House of Representatives in the first district, and Christopher Bolastig and Sharee Ann Tan for the second district.
Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code states that “Commission may motu propio or upon a verified petition of an interested party, refuse to give due course to or cancel a certificate of candidacy if it is shown that said certificate has been filed to put election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates.”
Motallana said candidates coming from both parties should be aware of rules regarding fielding in of candidates with the same name as their opponent.
She said the resolution of a case filed against a nuisance candidate is a lengthy proceeding at the Comelec main office such that cases remain unresolved even after the printing of ballots. (Jennifer Allegado/PNA)
