Comelec names 37 senatorial bets, says others can appeal

(Update) The Commission on Elections on Saturday gave “due course" to the candidacy of 37 senatorial aspirants after the poll body released Resolution No. 7832. The poll body declared 42 other aspirants nuisance candidates. Resolution No. 7832 gave due course to the certificates of candidacy filed by 34 candidates under 13 registered political parties. Three other candidates are running as independents. The official list of candidates for the senatorial elections in May includes: Joselito Cayetano, Melchor Chavez, Antonio Estrella, Oliver Lozano, Eduardo Orpilla, Ruben Enciso and Victor Wood under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan; Francis Joseph Escudero, Loren Legarda, Vicente Sotto III and Tessie Oreta under the Nationalist People's Coalition; Aquilino Pimentel III under the Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan; Michael Defensor, Vicente Magsaysay, Cesar Montano, Prospero Pichay Jr., Ralph Recto, Luis Singson and Juan Miguel Zubiri under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats; Panfilo Lacson, John Henry Osmeña and Antonio Trillanes IV under the United Opposition; Benigno Aquino III and Francis Pangilinan under the Liberal Party; Martin Bautista, Zosimo Paredes and Adrian Sison under the Ang Kapatiran Party; Sonia Roco of Aksyon Demokratiko; Joker Arroyo of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino; Alan Peter Cayetano and Manuel Villar Jr. under the Nacionalista Party: Edgardo Angara of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino; Jamalul Kiram III of the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas; and Felix Cantal of the Philippine Green Republican Party. Anna Dominique Coseteng, Richard Gomez and Gregorio Honanan are running as independents. ‘Nuisance candidates’ Danton Remoto, a professor at the Ateneo de Manila University and head of the gay group Ang Ladlad, was among those named by the poll body as nuisance candidate. Also included in the list of nuisance aspirants were Theodore Aquino, Orlando Abitona, Eduardo Flaminiano, Gherry Guillergan, Daniel Magtira, Manuel Po, Francisco Tajanan, and Camilo Tiqui. Theodore Aquino claimed to be a distant cousin of Tarlac Rep. Benigno Aquino III who is also running under the Liberal Party. "There are indications that various certificates were filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute or to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate had no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the certificate has been filed and thus prevent a faithful determination of the true will of the electorate," the Comelec resolution said in justifying the disqualification of the so-called nuisance candidates. Those declared as nuisance candidates were given until Monday to "show cause their certificates of candidacy should be given due course." The Comelec also approved the substitution of Leyte Governor Jericho Petilla by actor Cesar Montano and the withdrawal of Mario Ongkiko as candidate under the Kapatiran party. The poll body reminded the candidates to submit drug-test certificates as required by law. A total of 80 people filed their certificates of candidacies for the senatorial race on February 12. - GMANews.TV