27 Senate bets get Comelec nod; 57 others given 2nd shot

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