Comelec: Lack of money does not make a candidate nuisance

Money is not the end all and be all for a candidate to be deemed qualified in the Senate race, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Thursday.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez issued the clarification during the first day of the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2019 midterm polls.

“Kailangan ‘yung may kakayahang mag-conduct ng nationwide campaign. That is very important for senators. But it is also very important to understand that it is not about money,” Jimenez said.

“One can have less money than the other, but the one who has less money could be better suited for a national campaign because he or she has [enough] supporters,” he added.

The Omnibus Election Code defines nuisance candidates as those who file COCs “in mockery of the election process; to cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates or by other circumstances or acts which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the COC has been filed.”

Jimenez, however, clarified that the Comelec is yet to decide if the number of followers on social media accounts would be tantamount to having the capacity to wage a national campaign.

“It will still depend on the capacity of the person to mobilize those followers. Because even if someone reached 10 million followers at one point, there could be a point where some accounts will unfollow you or these [10 million] accounts are not necessarily active,” Jimenez said.

“It would still be a question of evidence,” he added.

During the 2016 elections, Comelec records show that 150 senatorial aspirants filed their COCs but the poll body only found 50 of them eligible to run. — RSJ, GMA News