Commission on Elections. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday to release a separate list bearing names of public officials nominated as party-list groups’ candidates two weeks after the filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) deadline on October 8.
Bukidnon 2nd District Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores made the suggestion to Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, who was defending the 2025 budget of the Comelec during Wednesday’s 2025 General Appropriations Bill plenary deliberations.
READ: Lawyer asks SC to nullify Comelec rule on party-list nomination
“I would let go of this issue provided that within two weeks after the deadline of the COC – because Comelec will publish anyways everyone who filed for candidacy – if they can do a separate report so at least there’s better public transparency,” Flores said.
“So we all know and the public will know who are the government officials– civil service government officials who became nominees of any party list,” he added.
Flores was pertaining to a Comelec rule, specifically Section 11, Rule II of Comelec Resolution No. 11045, which allows public officials to hold office even after they were nominated as candidates of party-list groups.
On Monday, an election lawyer, Atty. Romulo Macalintal filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) asking it to nullify the new Comelec rule calling it “unconstitutional.”
According to Macalintal, such rule “violates Section 4, Article 9-B of the Constitution and existing jurisprudence that no officer the civil service shall engage directly or indirectly, in any electioneering or partisan political activity.”
For his part, Adiong said the Comelec welcomes the recommendation and would release the list of names on the date set by Flores.