Comelec disqualifies KBL presidential bet Acosta

(Updated 8:50 p.m.) Vetellano Acosta, the presidential bet of the Marcos-led Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) party who has shown less-than-perfect credentials in convincing the public of the seriousness of his candidacy, has been disqualified from running in the May 10 elections by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). In a unanimous decision promulgated Thursday, the Comelec en banc disqualified Acosta saying that he is a nuisance candidate. "To allow him to run would be of no good to the country as his candidacy only puts the electoral process in mockery," said the resolution. The poll body said that several situations and "factual issues" caused the Comelec to "re-evaluate" its position in allowing Acosta to run as a presidential candidate and to "re-assess" his mental competence.
It cited Acosta's admission in a radio interview that he did not know KBL vice-presidential bet Jose “Jay" Y. Sonza or the party's senatorial lineup. "A mere nomination of a candidate by a registered political party does not automatically exclude him from being categorized as a nuisance candidate, more so when... his supposed running mate, has repeatedly expressed that he is not supporting the standard bearer of such party," said the Comelec. The poll body also found it "bizarre" that instead of trying to become more popular during the campaign period, he made himself scarce to the media and the public. "He cannot just simply say that he is leaving his fate to God and to the people. Any Tom, Dick, and Harry can claim the same," said the resolution. Not even a registered voter Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the decision was final. "We looked at the documents and presentations made during the en banc hearing... we decided that he [Acosta] should be disqualified," he told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Acosta, a banker, was earlier disqualified from seeking public office for failing to prove that he could launch a nationwide campaign without the backing of a political party. But after filing a motion for reconsideration with a certificate of nomination from the KBL, his candidacy was approved by the poll body. The Liberal Party, however, filed a disqualification case against Acosta because it said he is not the official KBL bet, adding that the party failed to pass the certificate of nomination before the Dec. 1, 2009 deadline. It further asserted that Acosta was only running to dislodge their standard bearer Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III from his original position as first in the alphabetically-arranged list of candidates for president to be printed on the ballots. On Tuesday, Comelec records revealed that the KBL bet is not even a registered voter in the area where he claims to be one, making him ineligible to run for public office. 'Comelec took too long' LP, for its part, welcomed Acosta's disqualification. “Acosta was obviously a nuisance candidate from the start... he has not shown himself capable of running even a local campaign, let alone a national one," said LP campaign manager Florencio "Butch" Abad. It noted, however, that the Comelec took too long in excluding him from the official list of candidates. "If the Comelec did its research when the LP first filed its petition to disqualify Acosta, then Acosta would have been excluded in the printing of the official ballots. Now the damage has been done," he said. He thus said that the poll body must take the responsibility of informing the voters about the disqualification of Acosta.
The poll body said that all the names that had been earlier included in the official list of candidates will remain on the ballots to be used in the May polls, but votes for Acosta will not be counted. With Acosta out of the presidential race, only Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III (Liberal Party), John Carlos “JC" Delos Reyes (Ang Kapatiran), former president Joseph M. Ejercito Estrada (Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino – UNO), Senator Richard J. Gordon (Bagumbayan), Senator Maria Ana Consuelo “Jamby" AS. Madrigal (Independent), environmentalist Nicanor Perlas (independent), Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. (Lakas-Kampi-CMD), evangelist Eddie C. Villanueva (Bangon Pilipinas), and Senator Manuel Villar Jr. (Nacionalista Party) will be up against each other in the May polls. - KBK/JV, GMANews.TV