SEN. SHERWIN GATCHALIAN is vexed by the large number of people who filed certificates of candidacy (COCs) for senator in the 2019 elections. When Comelec closed the period for filing Wednesday (Oct. 17), 152 COCs for 12 seats in the Senate had been accepted and recorded. It’s not an unusually large number though, even fewer than the 174 who filed for the 2016 Senate elections.
Tamer fantasies
Actually, the fantasies spun by this year’s crop could be a lot tamer than in previous years, which included one who said he’d give a million pesos to each voter and another who said Jesus Christ talked to him at Magellan’s Cross in front of City Hall and told him to run to save the country.
They must not be the sort of candidates who burden the government with more expense and Comelec more work. It’s annoying to people like Gatchalian. The senator filed last July 28, 2016 (and probably re-filed in 2017 and this year) Senate Bill 911 which amends the nuisance law and imposes a fine of P50,000 on each filer found by Comelec to be a nuisance filer.
Amendment
Gatchalian’s bill also amends the Omnibus Election Code (Batas Pambansa 881, section 69) by including in the list of punishable acts the use of COC filing “to obtain money, profit or other consideration.”
The other acts deemed offensive have long been there: (a) “to put the election process in mockery or dispute,” (2) “to cause confusion among voters by similarity of names,” or (2) any other act that shows the filer has no “bona fide intent” to run for office.
Determining intent
Being a nut case may give away the filer’s lack of genuine intent to run. But how would Gatchalian weed out from among visibly reasonable men and women those who are not crazy but truly believe they have a chance to win, which they actually don’t have?
The tough part is sifting the legitimate filers from those who have other motives in filing a COC, such as wanting to be nation-famous for 15 minutes, or raising funds, or spoiling an enemy’s chances. How about those whose desire to serve is authentic but have no freaking chance to get near the circle of winners?
Capacity to campaign
That yardstick of having no capacity to mount a nationwide campaign for the Senate may not stand against the argument of new technology that enables a candidate to reach a nationwide audience. Right? Wrong. New tech still requires money and other resources to be effective. An army of trolls is pretty expensive.
Gatchalian needs to talk to Comelec, election law veterans, other experts, and the candidates themselves, even the crazy ones. Lawmakers need to harmonize a new law against nuisance candidates with the precept that guarantees the right to seek elective office without mocking or demeaning the process.
Core missed
His proposal can stand a lot of improvement. He has missed the core of the problem, which can’t be solved by just tucking in one more offensive act and imposing a hefty fine.
The mentally unstable filers who annoy the senator? They are few and they even provide a bit of fun in an otherwise seriously dull activity.