Comelec expects final list of Eleksyon 2022 bets on January 7

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is expecting to finalize the official list of Eleksyon 2022 candidates by January 7, with the printing of ballots to begin on January 15.

“We expect that the list will be final by January 7. (That is our) expectation natin ‘yan, target natin,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in a virtual press conference Monday.

Jimenez added that decisions on petitions to cancel certificates of candidacy or petitions to declare an aspirant as a nuisance candidate would be resolved by the Comelec en banc before the said dates.

“So, we expect na matapos nila ‘yon mga [cases] first week of January. Hopefully, mailabas lahat ng (they can release) decisions. We have until January 7 actually to finish everything so that we won’t be late for printing. So pasok pa tayo sa (we are still within our) slack time natin,” he added.

Last Friday, the Comelec released an updated tentative list of aspirants for the 2022 national and local polls.

The Certified List of Candidates posted by the poll body on Friday showed that the number of presidential aspirants was whittled down to 15, based on the initial list posted on October 29, to 15.

Meanwhile, the tentative list of vice-presidential aspirants was trimmed from 28 to nine.

The poll body also released a tentative list of 70 senatorial aspirants, local candidates, and accredited party-list groups.

According to Jimenez, those who were excluded from the tentative list are no longer considered in the official list of candidates for the upcoming polls.

But some of those who were included in the list could still be removed depending on Comelec’s decision on their pending cases.

“Ngayon, halimbawa, ‘yung mga pending motion for reconsideration, I’m sure none of you have sort of missed the whole noise on social media now about the tentative list including certain persons, those persons were included [in the tentative list] simply because they have motions for reconsideration. Ibig sabihin, hindi pa tapos ang mga kaso nila (that means their cases have not yet been resolved yet),” he explained.

“The tentative list is mababawasan, hindi s’ya madadagdagan siguro, ano (the list could still be whittled down, but we are no longer adding aspirants to that list). So, again ‘yung mga (motions for) reconsideration at mga certificate of finality of the decisio,n ‘yon na lang ang inaantay,” he added.

As an example, Jimenez pointed to the case of presidential aspirant Aurora Marcos. She was declared a nuisance candidate, but she is still included in the tentative list of presidential candidates for Eleksyon 2022 because she appealed the poll body’s decision.

On the other hand, Jimenez explained that those who were facing disqualification cases could still be included in the official list of candidates as these petitions are more complicated than cases filed seeking for the cancellation of COCs or petitions seeking to declare an aspirant as a nuisance candidate.

“[Those cases] that would’ve resulted in the removal of the name from the list, for example, cancellation, nuisance candidate etcetera, ibig sabihin yan natanggal na dapat ‘yan (that means those aspirants would be removed from the list of candidates). But for other cases like a disqualification, it's more complicated and probably take longer to resolve. Technically, ‘di sila matatanggal, right? But they will be able to proceed because there would be nothing hindering their candidacy at that point,” he explained.

TRO

Meanwhile, the poll body spokesperson said they would wait for the Supreme Court’s actual resolution related to the temporary restraining orders issued against the poll body following the appeal made by party-list groups which were denied accreditation for the 2022 polls.

“We are still waiting for the actual reso to come out. We will see on the basis of that what the TROs’ effect will actually be. Because, just to point out the situation we are in, if they are temporarily restraining the raffle, eh tapos na ang raffle, ano pa ang ire-restrain mo d’yan (what are they going to restrain when the raffle had taken place)? So we have to be clarified, ano exactly ang pinapa-restrain ng court (what exactly is being restrained by the court)?” he said.

Last week, Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzon posted on Twitter a possible consequence of the filing of cases against the poll body which may hamper the printing of the official ballots.

“Those who filed cases to stop COMELEC from printing ballot numbers of party list, I hope you realize what [you] have done. If ballots are not printed by January, May elections are at risk,” the poll official warned.

In the same virtual conference, Jimenez said Guanzon was concerned about the possibility that the High Court was ordering the poll body to put the printing of official ballots on hold.

“I think she’s a little concerned that if the printing of the ballots is what the court wants to be restrained, then that will really cause a problem, ‘di ba? And I think that’s what she is pointing out,” he said.

“But we have to wait for the actual resolution of the court to find out kung talagang ‘yung (if the) ballot printing (would be restrained) talaga ang pinapa-restratin nila… If it is the ballot printing that they are seeking to be restrained then that is going to be a problem,” Jimenez added.

Guanzon previously said that party-list groups which secured a TRO from the SC will be listed on the ballot for the 2022 elections.

However, she clarified that securing a TRO from the SC will not guarantee inclusion in the 2022 ballot since the poll body follows a timeline to be ready for the conduct of the May 2022 elections.

Guanzon issued the statement after at least seven party-lists secured TROs from the SC:

• Ang Tinig ng Seniors
• Igorot Warriors International
• Alliance for Resilience, Sustainability, and Empowerment (Arise)
• Ugyon Mangunguma, Mangingisda Kag Mamumugon Nga Ilonggo (UMA ILONGGO)
• Ang Programang Aasenso Taumbayan-Dream Act, Participate, and Advocate for Sustainable Transformation (APAT-DAPAT).
• Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Conference for Peace and Development
• Lingkud Bayanihan Party

The SC issued the TROs after the poll body raffled the order of party-list groups on the 2022 elections ballot last December 14.

There were 166 party-list groups that made it to the raffle, with Kalipunan ng Maralita at Malayang Mamamayan (Kamalayan) party-list securing the number one spot.

In the Certified List of Candidates posted by the Comelec last Friday, the poll body included 171 party-list groups and left five vacant spots in the last part of the document. — DVM, GMA News