Iloilo COMELEC: Candidate List for 2025 Not Yet Final

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan 

Iloilo City’s acting election officer reiterated that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is still collecting requirements for aspirants in the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE). She emphasized that the final list may not include all those who initially filed, depending on the completeness of their submissions.

Acting city election officer Pinky Tentativa told Aksyon Radyo Iloilo that their office had printed a tentative list of aspirants based on those who submitted their Certificates of Candidacy (COC) from October 1 to 8. This list will be forwarded to the COMELEC central office in Manila on Saturday, October 12.

The filing of COCs for the 2025 NLE primarily took place outside local COMELEC offices, with most submissions in designated mall areas, especially in urban centers.

In Iloilo City, submissions were received at Cinema 6 of Robinsons Place Iloilo, while in Iloilo province, it took place in the VIP Room of Festive Walk Mall, Mandurriao.

“Right now, we are preparing all the necessary documents to be submitted to the COMELEC central office on October 12, 2024. We’ve printed the tentative list of aspirants for the bulletin board and prepared their documents for forwarding to Manila,” Tentativa said in a radio interview.

She clarified that despite the tentative list displayed on their office’s bulletin board, the aspirants’ submissions would still undergo review by the COMELEC central office.

Section 69 of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881 (Omnibus Election Code) allows the commission to reject or cancel a COC, either motu proprio (on its own motion) or upon a verified petition by an interested party.

A candidate may be declared a nuisance if their COC is filed to mock the election process, cause confusion among voters due to name similarity, or if it is clear they have no bona fide intention to run for office. This ensures a faithful determination of voters’ true will.

Tentativa cited two Supreme Court cases, Marquez vs. COMELEC, where it was ruled that financial incapacity, lack of popularity, or non-affiliation with a political party cannot be used as grounds to declare a candidate a nuisance.

The cases, decided in 2019 and 2022, involved Norman Marquez, who was declared a nuisance candidate by the COMELEC in those NLEs.

“In the local election offices, we don’t have the authority to recommend who is or isn’t a nuisance candidate. This determination is made either by the COMELEC central office or through a filed petition. However, we follow due process, allowing candidates the opportunity to defend themselves,” she explained.

She added that many factors come into play when declaring a nuisance candidate. The COMELEC must review evidence proving the candidate’s disqualification, and the process varies depending on circumstances and the evidence provided.

Regarding premature campaigning, Tentativa reaffirmed that it is not punishable before the official campaign period for national elections, citing the 2009 Penera vs. COMELEC case.

The Penera ruling states that election law violations only apply once the official campaign period begins, as defined by the COMELEC in accordance with the Constitution and existing laws.

For the 2025 NLE, COMELEC Resolution No. 10999, issued on May 24, 2024, sets the official campaign period to begin on February 11, 2025, for senatorial and party-list elections, and March 28, 2025, for House of Representatives and local elections.

Campaigning will be paused on April 17 (Maundy Thursday) and April 18 (Good Friday).

Tentativa emphasized that the Penera ruling does not apply to barangay elections, which are conducted manually.

This means several promotional activities by aspirants, including regular government cash transfer programs facilitated by local government or congressional district offices, cannot be regulated by COMELEC before the campaign period.

“Based on Supreme Court rulings, we in the COMELEC do not have the authority to regulate cash distribution activities before the campaign period. Our authority only begins once the campaign period starts,” she said.

COMELEC chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in May that the commission would seek to prohibit candidates from participating in “ayuda” activities before the campaign period officially starts.