Losing 2013 senatorial candidate Rizalito David was dismayed with the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Second Division to cancel his certificate of candidacy (COC) and declare him as a nuisance candidate.
David said that the decision of the division was “unjust.”
He even took offense with the use of the word “nuisance” against ineligible candidates.
“’Nuisance’ implies na parang nambubuwisit ka lang. Do I look like nambubuwisit?” he told INQUIRER.net in a phone interview on Wednesday shortly after learning the ruling of the division.
David said that he is serious with his presidential bid, as shown in the disqualification cases he filed against former presidential preference poll frontrunner Senator Grace Poe to defend the presidency.
“All or almost all of those who knows ‘Rizalito David’ associate me with Senator Grace Poe. You cannot look at Poe without Rizalito David,” he said.
Meanwhile, the presidential aspirant said that the Second Division erred in its decision as there is no provision in the Constitution or the Omnibus Election Code which states that financial capacity is a requirement to run for president.
“There is no minimum amount needed to launch a presidential campaign. If there was a requirement, the Comelec should have provided the minimum amount for that. [Financial capacity] is not part of the qualifications for president stated in the Constitution or the Omnibus Election Code,” he said.
David vowed to file a motion for reconsideration on the Comelec division’s ruling before the poll body sitting en banc. He is also determined to elevate it to the Supreme Court if he fails to secure a favorable decision from the Comelec.
“I am doing this not just for myself but for other people who wants to run for president who do not have much money to wage a presidential campaign,” David said.
On Wednesday, the Comelec declared David as a nuisance candidate on two grounds: first, he claimed that he was a presidential candidate under Kapatiran Party where in fact, the party did not field any; and second, he failed to show clear proof that he can wage a nationwide campaign.
David was the first to file disqualification cases against Poe before the Senate Electoral Tribunal and the Comelec over her supposedly questionable citizenship and her inability to satisfy the 10-year residency requirement.
The SET has since junked his petition to unseat Poe with finality.