THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Mandaue City clarified that aspirants who have filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2025 midterm elections are not yet official candidates.
As a result, any self-promotion activities cannot be classified yet as election campaigning or partisan political activity.
Comelec Mandaue Election Officer, lawyer Annafleur Gujilde, said on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, that individuals who have submitted their COCs are free to discuss their platforms and campaign without violating Comelec regulations. She clarified that campaign rules only take effect once the official campaign period begins, from March 28 to May 10, 2025.
“Comelec has no jurisdiction yet because they are not considered candidates until the campaign period begins,” said Gujilde.
However, any election campaign or partisan political activity is prohibited on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the day before election day, and election day, she added.
Gujilde said that while Comelec has no authority over the current activities of aspirants, it is up to the public to judge whether these actions are appropriate or raise questions of propriety.
She added that these activities fall under the aspirants’ freedom of expression, even though they have not officially declared their candidacies. Some may even decide not to run, making this part of an early phase in their political journey.
Gujilde also outlined potential grounds for disqualification once a COC is filed, including violations of election laws, misrepresentation of qualifications such as age or residency, and issues related to citizenship or literacy.
She said that, apart from nuisance candidacy, these grounds could lead to a candidate being disqualified, but only if properly challenged and proven.
Any petitions to declare someone a nuisance candidate would need to be filed at the Comelec office in Manila, according to Gujilde.
“Nuisance candidates are those who mock the political process or cause confusion, especially when they have the same name or surname as other candidates,” she said.
Despite this, she said that no candidate would likely view themselves as a nuisance, leaving it up to others to challenge such candidacies.
As for how long it may take for the Comelec in Manila to resolve such cases, Gujilde was unable to provide a definite timeline. She said it depends on how quickly the Manila office can deliberate and evaluate the petition, though she hopes such matters will be settled before the elections take place.
She said the early filing of COCs is necessary due to the automated nature of local and national elections.
She added that the names of candidates need to be printed on the ballots in advance, unlike in Barangay and Sangguninag Kabataan elections where voters manually write the names of their preferred candidates. / CAV