MANILA, Philippines?The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be strict in accepting the certificates of candidacy (CoC) from nuisance candidates when filing starts Friday, an official said Thursday.

Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento said there would be strict reinforcement of the agency's resolution on nuisance candidates, who constitute persons without political machinery to hold national campaigns.

In the past, nuisance candidates created confusion among voters by having names or stage names similar or sound like that of another candidate.

Comelec offices nationwide will accept CoCs from prospective national candidates from November 20 to 30 between 8a.m. to 5p.m., and from 8a.m. to 12 midnight of December 1.

?Nuisance candidates would make a mockery of the election process and our democracy if any who has no qualification or simply undermine the process?it should be stricken off,? said Sarmiento.

Nuisance candidates will be separated from serious bets through a series of disqualification hearings after the filing of CoCs between Friday and December 1 midnight in preparation of the certified list of candidates that will be printed in special paper ballots for the 2010 elections, said Comelec legal department head Ferdinand Rafanan.

A verified petition to declare a registered candidate as nuisance should be filed personally or through a duly authorized Comelec representative within five days after the filing of CoCs, added Rafanan.

?Comelec will accept all CoCs from candidates as long as they satisfy the minimum requirements. Five days after the deadline for CoC filing, we would conduct disqualification hearings for about two weeks to separate the nuisance from the serious candidates. Before the holiday season, we aim to release the certified list of candidates,? he said.

Sarmiento also appealed to prospective candidates who would file their CoCs to refrain from having accompanying artists, bands and throngs of supporters that make a ?circus out of the CoC filing.?

?We appeal to those who will file their CoCs not to tag along actresses and actors or bands when they file the CoC, or having too many supporters so that the filing won't be a circus,? said Sarmiento.

There would be close to 18,000 national and local positions up for grabs in the 2010 elections