Comelec reconsiders  ‘adopted’ candidates

By Bernice Camille V. Bauzon Reporter

A high-ranking official of  the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said might be added two names to the official list of eight presidential candidates for the 2010 national elections.

Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer told reporters on Thursday the poll body would probably approve two more candidates for president.

But he added that the eight approved candidates for vice president “might stay as it is.”

Although the details were vague, Ferrer hinted that Nicolas Perlas—an environmentalist gunning to run for president as an independent candidate—might be one of the two that the Comelec was considering to add on the list of presidential aspirants.

Perlas has also been staging protests at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila—accusing the poll body of bias.

“He [Perlas] claims he is now being supported by several parties,” Ferrer said. “He has to show that to us. Maybe we will be convinced that he has the capacity to wage a nationwide campaign.”

One of the factors that the commission takes into consideration in approving a person’s candidacy is his or her political affiliation with an accredited political party and his or her capacity to finance a national campaign.

Official candidates

Earlier, Comelec named only eight official presidential candidates out of the 99 who filed certificates of candidacy (COC) from November 20 to December 1.

The eight candidates are Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino 3rd (Liberal Party); Councilor John Carlos “JC” de los Reyes (Ang Kapatiran); former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, or PMP); Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon (Bagumbayan-Volunteers for a New Philippines); Sen. Jamby Madrigal (independent); former Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi CMD); evangelist Brother Eduardo “Eddie” Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas); and Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party).

The commission also named eight eligible vice presidential candidates from the 20 who filed their candidacies, plus 58 senatorial bets out of the 158 hoping to be official candidates of their respective parties.

Upcoming hearing

Ferrer said that the Comelec has to release the final number of candidates from the local to the national level by January, since there were scheduled hearings on Monday and Tuesday. On the agenda are the appeals of the disqualified candidates.

Another factor affecting when the official list of candidates is the printing of ballots, which starts January 25. Since the ballots would bear the names of the candidates, Comelec has to finalize the number of all those running, from the lowest office to the highest elected post.

“They have the right to be heard, and [deserve] due process,” Ferrer said, referring to candidates earlier disqualified by the Comelec.

He added that the commission has to give consideration to those who filed their candidacy as independent bets but were eventually adopted by accredited political parties.

Being adopted answers Comelec’s objection to those who were disqualified on the basis of their inability to wage a nationwide campaign, Ferrer explained.