A total of 27 Senate contenders, including all those fielded by the administration coalition and its rival party, have been given the green light by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
The poll body also gave 57 other hopefuls another chance next week to prove that they are not nuisance candidates and must be allowed to join the electoral race next year. (See complete list below.)
In a 16-page ruling issued on Friday, the Comelec en banc approved the senatorial bid of the candidates in the Liberal Party-led administration coalition and its rival, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).
Deemed qualified to run were LP’s Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV; former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros; Senators Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Antonio Trillanes IV and Alan Peter Cayetano; Aurora Rep. Sonny Angara; former Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, and former Senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Jamby Madrigal.
Also allowed to run were UNA’s Sen. Gregorio Honasan, Representatives Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Juan “Jack” Ponce Enrile Jr. and Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay; former Senators Ernesto Maceda, Miguel Zubiri and Richard Gordon; former Tarlac Gov. Tingting Cojuangco, and Nancy Binay.
Common candidates
The poll body also approved the senatorial bid of LP’s and UNA’s common candidates Grace Poe-Llamanzares, chair of the Movie Television Review and Classification Board, and Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Loren Legarda.
The Comelec gave due course as well to the candidacy of independent bets Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn and retired Gen. Ramon Montaño, a former Constabulary chief.
Bayan Muna’s Teddy Casiño, incumbent Bayan Muna representative, and Ang Kapatiran Party’s John Carlos de los Reyes, Marwil Llasos and Rizalito David were also deemed qualified to join the Senate race.
But it’s not yet the end of the world for several colorful aspirants, among them self-proclaimed “world savior” Victor Lawag and “heir” to the vaunted owner of the entire Philippine archipelago Salam Lacan Luisong Tagean.
“[They] will be called for a hearing [next week] to justify the legitimacy of their candidacies,” Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. tweeted.
Kris Aquino’s ‘spouse’
Aside from Lawag and Tagean, the other senatorial hopefuls who were asked to appear before the poll body on Thursday were Daniel Magtira, who claimed to be the spouse of President Aquino’s sister Kris, and farmer Manuel Espinosa, who said he would push for the construction of “Edsalex,” the Edsa version of the South and North Luzon Expressways.
The Comelec also asked former jukebox king Victor Wood, lawyer Oliver Lozano, Melchor Chavez and four other members of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan to appear on Friday to defend their bids, along with Senate contenders from the Democratic Party of the Philippines Greco Antonious Beda Belgica, Baldomero Falcone and Christian Señeres.
In its ruling on Friday, the Comelec’s legal department said that while some candidates appeared to fall under the definition of nuisance candidates, “they should be accorded the opportunity to be heard to contradict or dispute the presumption that they are such.”
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez told reporters by phone that these candidates “are going to be basically asked to show that they have [the capacity to run].”
COMPLETE LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR SENATOR
(Comelec’s initial list as of Oct. 12, 2013)
NAME POLITICAL PARTY
1 HONTIVEROS, ANA THERESIA AKBAYAN
2 DAVID, RIZALITO KAPATIRAN PARTY
3 DELOS REYES, JOHN CARLOS KAPATIRAN PARTY
4 LLASOS, MARWIL KAPATIRAN PARTY
5 ANGARA, JUAN EDGARDO LDP-LABAN
6 AQUINO, PAOLO BENIGNO IV LIBERAL PARTY
7 MAGSAYSAY, RAMON, JR. LIBERAL PARTY
8 MADRIGAL, MARIA ANA CONSUELO LIBERAL PARTY
9 CASIÑO, TEODORO BAYAN MUNA
10 CAYETANO, ALAN PETER NACIONALISTA PARTY
11 TRILLANES, ANTONIO IV NACIONALISTA PARTY
12 VILLAR, CYNTHIA NACIONALISTA PARTY
13 ENRILE, JUAN PONCE JR. NPC
14 LEGARDA, LOREN LORNA REGINA NPC
15 PIMENTEL, AQUILINO MARTIN III PDP LABAN
16 BINAY, MARIA LOURDES NANCY UNA
17 COJUANGCO, MARGARITA UNA
18 EJERCITO, JOSEPH VICTOR UNA
19 GORDON, RICHARD UNA
20 HONASAN, GREGORIO UNA
21 MACEDA, ERNESTO UNA
22 MAGSAYSAY, MARIA MILAGROS ESPERANZA UNA
23 ZUBIRI, JUAN MIGUEL UNA
24 ESCUDERO, FRANCIS JOSEPH INDEPENDENT
25 LLAMANZARES, MARY GRACE POE INDEPENDENT
26 HAGEDORN, EDWARD INDEPENDENT
27 MONTAÑO, RAMON INDEPENDENT
OTHER CANDIDATES
NAME POLITICAL PARTY
1 FALCONE, BALDOMERO DEMOCRATIC PARTY
2 SEÑERES, CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
3 BELGICA, GRECO ANTONIOUS BEDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
4 AJEL, REMELYN INDEPENDENT
5 BAGUIO, FLORENTINO INDEPENDENT
6 BANTOLO, ROSARIO INDEPENDENT
7 BERNARDINO, AERIC INDEPENDENT
8 BULA, LEONARDO INDEPENDENT
9 CABRERA, RAFAEL INDEPENDENT
10 CADAG, VICTORIO ANGELO INDEPENDENT
11 CAILING, PATROCINIO INDEPENDENT
12 CAPULAR, ELIZABETH INDEPENDENT
13 DAZO, CATALINO INDEPENDENT
14 DIMAYA, ARSENIO INDEPENDENT
15 DONATO, JUANITO INDEPENDENT
16 ESCOSURA, ANICIO INDEPENDENT
17 ESPINOSA, MANUEL INDEPENDENT
18 FACTOR, GENEROSO INDEPENDENT
19 FERNANDEZ, EDUARDO SYAMA-SUNDAR-DAS INDEPENDENT
20 GARAY, ROQUE INDEPENDENT
21 GOROSTIZA, BYRON ADRIANO INDEPENDENT
22 HANDUMON, BENJAMIN JR. INDEPENDENT
23 INSIGNE, MANUEL INDEPENDENT
24 JOLONGBAYAN, EDWIN INDEPENDENT
25 LACANLUISONG TAGEAN, SALAM ED SR. INDEPENDENT
26 LAGATA, MERLITO INDEPENDENT
27 LAWAG, VICTOR INDEPENDENT
28 LOPE, WENDELL INDEPENDENT
29 MAGTIRA, DANIEL INDEPENDENT
30 MALUENDA JR., SEVERO INDEPENDENT
31 MANDAP, ELENA INDEPENDENT
32 MARCOS, FRANCIS LEO INDEPENDENT
33 NING, CARLITO INDEPENDENT
34 NOCON, VALERIANO III INDEPENDENT
35 PENSON, RICARDO INDEPENDENT
36 PO, MANUEL INDEPENDENT
37 RIRAO, MARLON INDEPENDENT
38 ROJAS, ERICSON ELI FELIX INDEPENDENT
39 SALANGSANG, PEPITO INDEPENDENT
40 SANTOSIDAD, REBECCA INDEPENDENT
41 SORIANO, COSME INDEPENDENT
42 SUERTE, ORLANDO INDEPENDENT
43 SULIBIT, NONATO INDEPENDENT
44 SY, JOHNNY CRIS INDEPENDENT
45 TALAG, ALFONSO, JR. INDEPENDENT
46 TOMOL, ROGELIO INDEPENDENT
47 VILLAMOR, ULYN INDEPENDENT
48 ABELLA, ALMA KBL
49 CADION, LEO KBL
50 CHAVEZ, MELCHOR KBL
51 GALANG, VIRGILIO KBL
52 GUNDAYAO, VIRGILIO KBL
53 LOZANO, OLIVER KBL
54 NUEVA, NORMA KBL
55 PANCHO JR., WENCESLAO KBL
56 WOOD, VICTOR KBL
57 ALCANTARA, SAMSON SOCIAL JUSTICE SOCIETY