SC: Unpopularity, non-membership not grounds for declaration as nuisance candidate

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that unpopularity and non-affiliation with a party are not enough grounds for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to declare a person as a nuisance candidate.

In a decision promulgated on June 28, but posted on the SC’s website on Saturday, SC partly granted the petition of Norman Cordero Marquez, who appealed to the court after he was declared a nuisance candidate by Comelec for the May 9, 2022 elections.

Comelec justified the decision under four grounds:

• Marquez had no bona fide intention to run.
• Marquez was “virtually unknown” to the entire country.
• Marquez was not nominated by any political party.
• Marquez was not financially capable of running a nationwide campaign.

The commission added that “reality is a bitter pill that [Marquez] has to swallow.”

However, the SC ruled that Comelec committed several errors.

The Comelec was supposed to have its Law Department prove allegations that Marquez did not have a bona fide intention to run. But the SC also outlined several indications that Marquez did have intentions to run, including the filing of his Certificate of Candidacy (COC) and a Program of Governance.

The SC also maintained that Marquez “exercised utmost vigilance in the protection of his candidacy.” In 2019, Marquez also filed his COC for the senate elections but was also declared as a nuisance candidate, and the case was also brought up to the SC. They ruled in favor of Marquez.

READ: SC stops Comelec from canceling Senate bid of animal welfare advocate

The court concluded that a person who did not have a bona fide intention to run would not have brought the cancellation of his cases to the SC twice.

In addition, the SC said that a person’s financial capacity should not be conflated with their intentions to run.

Furthermore, the SC said that the law cannot impose that a person should join a political party in order to run for public office. Unpopularity also cannot be grounds for declaration, ruled the court.

“Declaring one a nuisance candidate simply because he or she is not known to the entire country reduces the electoral process—a sacred instrument of democracy—to a mere popularity contest. The matter of the candidate being known (or unknown) should not be taken against the candidate but is best left to the electorate,” stated the SC.

However, the decision comes after the May 9 elections, rendering it moot. The SC still resolved the matter, should any similar situations take place in the future.

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