Poll body lists 256 candidates with disqualification cases

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia. INQUIRER.net / NOY MORCOSO

At least 256 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) candidates will not be proclaimed even if they win in the Oct. 30 elections until the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolves their pending disputes.

The Comelec released on Wednesday night the initial list of candidates from different areas of the country with pending cases, either to cancel their certificate of candidacy or to disqualify them for violating campaign rules. The 256 candidates are running for either barangay captain or councilor, or SK chairperson or councilor.

Last Tuesday, the Comelec’s seven-member policymaking body declared it would suspend the proclamation of winning barangay and SK candidates with unresolved election cases.

Comelec Chair George Garcia had proposed the suspension of proclamation to underscore the election body’s “campaign against election offenses.”“Considering that each petition [for disqualification] was brought after prior investigation by the respective task forces, strong evidence exists on the ground,” Garcia had said.

READ: Comelec: Proclaiming BSKE winners w/ disqualification raps may be stopped

As of Oct. 26, the Comelec task force against premature campaigning has filed disqualification cases against 196 candidates and ordered about 6,000 others to explain the complaints against them.

The Comelec task force against vote-buying and illegal campaigning has also filed disqualification cases against nine candidates and ordered around 1,500 others to explain why they should not be charged for illegal campaign activities.

—DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN