OVER 100 candidates in the forthcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) accused of premature campaigning are now facing disqualification cases at the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Based on the latest data from the Comelec, there are already 122 BSKE bets who are facing petitions for disqualification filed by the Task Force Anti-Epal, as of October 12.
"The Comelec Task Force Anti-Epal already filed petitions for disqualification against 122 candidates in violation of Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code or the prohibited act of premature campaigning," said the Comelec.
Of the 122, the Office of the Clerk of Court (OCOC) has already issued 49 Summons and is preparing another 40.
The remaining 33 cases have already been raffled to either the First or Second Division of the Comelec.
The poll body also said that there are 300 more candidates that may be filed disqualification cases "upon initial assessment."
It said 520 cases were dropped due to lack of "factual basis."
It added that the petitions filed and dropped complaints came from the 5,980 Show Cause Orders (SCOs) it issued.
Of the nearly 6,000 SCOs, the Comelec said it has received merely 2,727 answers.
To note, electioneering activities are still prohibited until October 18 as the BSKE campaign period will start only on October 19. (HDT/SunStar Philippines)