78 disqualification cases filed at Comelec

Seventy-eight disqualification cases against senatorial hopefuls in the 2019 elections have been filed at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as of Wednesday.

One of these cases was the disqualification case filed by lawyer Ferdinand Topacio against Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

Another one is the case filed by former senator and Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II against a certain Lemicio Jesus Roxas.

Separate disqualification cases have also been filed against Sen. Loren Legarda, who is seeking a House seat in Antique, by a certain Robin Rubinor and Exequiel Javier.

The substitution of candidates due to withdrawal is allowed until Nov. 29. After this date, substitution will only be allowed if a candidate dies or he will be substituted by someone who shares his last name.

The Comelec will release the final list of candidates on Dec. 15. The poll body will review the certificates of candidacy (COC) until Nov. 29 to identify nuisance candidates.

A total of 152 senatorial aspirants filed their COCs from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17. /ee

READ: Old, new faces show up at Comelec to join 2019 senatorial race