THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) reminded parties that the period to file petitions for disqualification against candidates in next month’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections will end today.
Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Cebu Provincial Election supervisor, said that aside from filing the petition for disqualification, interested parties can also file petitions to cancel the certificate of candidacy (COC) of those they deem to be nuisance candidates.
These must be filed with the election officer of the area where the candidate is currently registered or with the Clerk of the Commission in Manila.
“They must also remember that that since the election is just less than a month away, anyone who files a disqualification case against a candidate will have to wait a long time before his petition is heard before the Commission, as the candidate subjected to the petition must also be heard of his or her side,” Castillano said.
An interested person who wants to disqualify a candidate in his barangay could spend at least P10,100 for the filing and legal research fees.
For those filing petitions against nuisance candidates, only a person running for the same petition can file that petition, Castillano added. (JKV)