Garcia: Comelec ready to exclude nuisance bets despite TROs

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will not hesitate to exclude disqualified candidates from the ballot, even if doing so leads to wasted ballots due to Supreme Court Temporary Restraining Orders (TROs), Comelec Chairman George Garcia said Friday.

“Disqualifying a candidate and declaring them a nuisance is a power exclusive to the Comelec. It is provided for under the Constitution. We are the frontliners in determining who’s the nuisance, sino ang purpose ay lituhin lang ang mga kababayan natin sa kaparehas na pangalan." 

(We determine who intends to confuse voters with similar names.) 

The Supreme Court's TROs on Comelec’s decisions disqualifying certain candidates rendered six million printed ballots unusable for the May 2025 polls.

The unusable ballots are valued at P132 million.

Garcia stressed that the Supreme Court’s TROs did not invalidate the Comelec’s decision to exclude over 100 disqualified Senate candidates. The TRO was merely temporary relief, not a ruling on the merits.

He also highlighted that one disqualified candidate, Francis Leo Marcos, withdrew his certificate of candidacy for Senator after securing a TRO.

Garcia also criticized the idea of allowing all candidates on the ballot, regardless of intent or credibility. 

“Eh kung tatlong daan ang kandidato for president, ibig sabihin nyo, ‘yung lahat na naniniwala sa buwan at mga bituin, pati naniniwala sa mga dwende at mga ganito, papayagan natin [sa balota]? Hindi po [puede yan],” Garcia said.

(Should we allow 300 presidential candidates, including those who worship the moon, stars, or elves? That’s not acceptable.)

Citing Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code, Article 9C of the Constitution, and Supreme Court rulings, Garcia maintained that declaring candidates as nuisance is constitutional and necessary to maintain election integrity.

Despite this, Garcia assured compliance with Supreme Court decisions. 

“If there’s a TRO and we still proceed with the printing, Comelec would be acting in bad faith at that point. Secondly, that would be disrespectful of the Supreme Court, and we will not do that because other government agencies could follow suit,” Garcia said.

“I won’t do that,” he emphasized.

Garcia added that while the Comelec has yet to pay for the six million unused ballots, the expense is inevitable and will follow Commission on Audit rules. 

“It’s part of the process. We can still recycle [the ballots],” he said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

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