22 early birds want to roost in Malacañang Palace

THE EARLIEST birds came in various forms and sizes, with diverse interests, credentials and sometimes outrageous promises. But they shared a common aspiration: to become President of the Philippines.

One of the presidential aspirants described himself as a “crime buster” who had P26.12 trillion in reward for recovery of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth, deposited in trust in the national treasury—enough to wipe out the Philippines’ debts and send the children of all Filipinos to school for free.

Another, a perennial candidate, promised to become the first President from Mindanao who would take back from China the entire West Philippine Sea.

And there was a 73-year-old aspirant who flaunted his age and wisdom and four doctor’s and two master’s degrees as some of his qualifications for the top government post.

Among the earliest to file their certificates of candidacy (COCs) in the Commission on Elections (Comelec) main office in Intramuros, Manila, were former congressman and ex-Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) chief Augusto Syjuco Jr., lawyer Elly Pamatong and businessman Ephraim Defiño, who came dressed like a cowboy.

The three beat Vice President Jejomar Binay, who arrived at the Comelec central office before it opened its doors at 8 a.m. Monday, the start of the five-day registration of candidates for the May 2016 general elections.

Binay, accompanied by an entourage bigger than the Comelec three-companion rule, sealed his partnership with Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, who was joined by his wife and chief of staff in filing his COC for Vice President.

22 presidential candidates

As of 5 p.m. Monday, 22 people had registered their bids for the presidency, three for the vice presidency and 16 for the senatorial race.

In an interview with reporters, Syjuco said he was running for President as representative of Filipinos who were “angry and disgusted” with corruption in the government.

“I have never in my 73 years seen a government as corrupt and as incompetent as this particular government,” said Syjuco, who is facing graft charges in the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged overpricing of training materials worth P61 million during his term at Tesda.

Syjuco also said he was running for President so he could work with all the other presidential candidates to stop Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Mar Roxas from “grabbing and stealing the presidency.”

He said the elections were being manipulated to make it appear that Roxas was doing well in his bid for presidency.

“This is already a psy-war prep to show people that if Roxas can go up to 8 percent to second place, he can go up another 8 percent to first place and win,” Syjuco said.

Better candidate

He said he was the better candidate because nobody had his qualifications.

“I have four Ph.Ds, I have two master’s degrees, I am an economist, among other things. I am also a political analyst. I am the oldest living highest-ranking officer of the 1971 constitutional convention,” he said.

He also claimed that he created the Office of the Ombudsman, originated the accountability of public officers, and authored the laws on dual citizenship and overseas voting.

“I have made a lot of mistakes in my life to have learned. So I believe I have the maturity, the background and the wisdom,” he said.

“And one more thing, I don’t have a political party. I don’t have excess baggage to carry. There are no people I have to reward when I become President except the people themselves,” he said.

Pamatong

Pamatong, one of the regulars in presidential elections, vowed to reclaim the disputed West Philippine Sea and end China’s incursions on Philippine territory there.

“I will be the first Mindanaoan President,” Pamatong told reporters.

Danilo Lihay-Lihay, who described himself as a “crime buster” and an “informer” of the Supreme Court on the ill-gotten wealth cases against former President Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies, promised to pay all the country’s debts and make Philippines crime-free.

Lihay-Lihay also vowed to donate two-thirds of his monetary reward amounting to P17 trillion to the people and to eliminate the value-added and individual income taxes.

Instant campaign

A balding Alejandro Ignacio marked his official entry as a presidential candidate with a grand entrance and a speech directed at Comelec staff processing COCs.

“I will save the 100 million Filipinos who are suffering from hunger and poverty,” the 76-year-old Ignacio said in a booming voice.

But a Comelec staff member cut him off, informing him that a podium had been set up at the end of the hall on the ground floor for candidates who wanted to introduce their platforms to the press.

“But there is freedom of speech,” Ignacio began to argue but he saw Comelec Chair Andres Bautista, who shook his hand.

Ignacio told the Comelec chief that he was presenting himself to voters as an alternative choice of leader for the country. “This country needs a newcomer, a genuine leader,” he told Bautista, who politely listened to him but hinted to reporters later the possibility of a blanket disqualification for “nuisance candidates.”

Sel Hope Kang

Thirty-seven-year-old Sel Hope Kang showed strong emotion when she registered her candidacy for President.

“I want to make a difference in the whole world,” she said, adding that her campaign slogan was “dalisay na daan” (pure path) but did not explain what it meant.

When it was pointed out to her that she was three years short of the age requirement to run for President, Kang said she was exempted because she graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City.

Blanket ban

Speaking at a news conference later, Comelec Chair Bautista said he had asked the full election commission to look into the case of nuisance candidates and see if a blanket ban could be enforced to keep them out of elections.

“We will take that up [in our full-commission meeting tomorrow],” Bautista said.

In the meantime, he said the Comelec would accept COCs from all filers then proceed to determine which of them were nuisance candidates.

According to Comelec Resolution No. 8678, nuisance candidates are people who make a mockery of the election process, seek to confuse voters by using names similar to those of bona fide candidates, or have no real intention to run for public office.

Bautista said the final list of official candidates would be released on Dec. 10.

Kris Aquino’s ‘husband’

It remains to be seen if the list will carry the name of Daniel Magtira, a self-proclaimed husband of President Aquino’s sister, actress and television host Kris Aquino.

Magtira filed a COC for the senatorial race. In his COC, he listed the name of his wife as Kris Aquino and stated that he was officially nominated by movie actress Nora Aunor, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos and H-World Gen. Royette Padilla.

During an interview with reporters, Magtira sang a song for Kris Aquino, whom he called “my wife,” expressing his desire to spend Christmas with her.

He said he hoped Kris would invite him to her morning show “Kris TV.”

“I woo Kris whenever it’s election time. I hope she will invite me to her show,” Magtira said.

He filed COCs for presidential and senatorial elections in the past, but was disqualified.

Paula Sagayo

In Baguio City, 60-year-old Paula Sagayo tried to register as a presidential candidate at the local Comelec office, but was given a blank COC and told to go to Manila and file it at the main office there.

Julius Torres, Comelec Cordillera regional director, said only the Comelec head office in Manila handled registrations for the presidential election.

Sagayo admitted her error and said she would go to Manila after she had completed her senatorial team, according to John Martin, Comelec Baguio election supervisor.

In Bulacan, Ermalyn Guyala Carmen, 47, a vulcanizing shop assistant from Balagtas town, tried to file a COC for the gubernatorial race, but was unsuccessful.

Elmo Duque, Bulacan election supervisor, said Carmen did not comply with the documentation requirements.

Poe’s challenger

Rizalito David, who brought a petition for the disqualification of Sen. Grace Poe, a presidential candidate, in the Senate Electoral Tribunal, also registered his candidacy for President.

His running mate is Albert Alba and they are running as candidates of Ang Kapatiran Party.

Pamatong told reporters that he was not a nuisance candidate.

“If the Filipino people only knew what I’ve been fighting for, I would have been 100 percent a winner,” he said. “I’m running because of obligation, not ambition.” With reports from Vincent Cabreza and Jessica Tabilin, Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Ron Lopez, Inquirer Central Luzon