Sunday, May 13, 2007 Poll body bars lawmaker’s namesake from running for Senate
* Joselito Cayetano disqualified from senatorial race
THE Commission on Election (Comelec) en banc has disqualified Joselito Pepito Cayetano from the senatorial race, bringing down to 36 the number of candidates vying for 12 Senate seats up for grabs in Monday’s elections.
In a resolution issued late Friday night, the Comelec en banc upheld the decision of its first division declaring Cayetano a “nuisance candidate”.
The resolution however did not state that all votes cast for Joselito or with the surname Cayetano only would be counted in favor of Genuine Opposition (GO) candidate Alan Peter Cayetano.
Joselito’s name also still appears in the Comelec’s official list of candidates.
But Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos said all they have to do is to send memorandum to all Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) nationwide to inform them about the decision.
Cayetano's legal counsel Leila de Lima expressed fear that there is not enough time for the dissemination of the resolution.
She advised Alan Peter to inform the voters to write “Alan Peter Cayetano” on their ballots to make sure that all votes cast in favor of him would be counted.
The Comelec first division had ruled that while Joselito put “Peter” as his nickname in his certificate of candidacy, he is known in the community as “Jojo” and not “Peter.”
“Hence, his act is clearly calculated to cause confusion among the voters during the campaign period and on election day through the similarity of nicknames,” the resolution stated.
Likewise, the first division also found Joselito, an official candidate of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), as unfit to conduct a nationwide campaign.
Joselito had contested the first division’s ruling by filing a motion for reconsideration but it was denied by the en banc. (MSN/Sunnex)
