Noynoy asks Comelec to remove Acosta's name from ballots

Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III has formally asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to remove the name of disqualified Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) presidential bet Vetellano Acosta from the official ballots for the May polls. In a five-page petition, Aquino's lawyer Sixto Brillantes said there is "no legal and valid reason" for Acosta's name to remain on the ballots being printed by the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City. "In order to give effect to the commission resolution, justice and fairness demands that his name should not be printed in the official ballots, otherwise, the resolution would turn out to be a useless and toothless verdict," said the petition filed Tuesday. The petition further asserted that the ballots that were printed with Acosta's name should be discarded by the Comelec. "A new set of official ballots (should) be reprinted as replacements without the name of Acosta printed therein," it said. At least 10 million ballots have been printed by the NPO. No can do But Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, who heads the poll body steering committee on automation, said that Acosta's name will stay on the ballot. He said the votes for the disqualified KBL bet will be considered as stray votes. He also said that what the LP is asking for is "not easy." "The implications of the request, I cannot even begin to comprehend," he said. Larrazabal said they would have to redo the source code for the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) and canvassing system, possibly delaying the elections by months. Larrazabal added that he is "puzzled, bewildered, and amazed" at how the parties could not allot some of their time to ask the Comelec about the matter. "We can enlighten them about the printing process... this is one of the concerns and they could have just come to us," he said. Larrazabal said the LP should not worry too much that Acosta's name placement on the ballot would take away votes from Aquino, whose name is only second to the KBL bet in the alphabetical list of candidates. "They should give credit to the voters and they should give credit to their candidate," he said. The KBL bet 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 LP, 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. Likewise, the LP claimed that Acosta was only running to dislodge Aquino from his original position as first in the alphabetically-arranged list of candidates for president to be printed on the ballots. Comelec records then 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. KBL vice-presidential bet Jose "Jay" Y. Sonza has also earlier claimed that he has yet to meet their standard bearer. In the end, the Comelec disqualified Acosta and declared him a nuisance candidate. The poll body has also said that it is thinking of filing at least two criminal charges against Acosta. With Acosta out of the presidential race, only Aquino, 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. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV