MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Santa Rosa, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, who is running for governor, sought to declare two other gubernatorial aspirants sharing his surname as nuisance candidates.
Lawyers Ferdinand Ragaza and Ariel Radovan filed the petition at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday to seek the removal of Jenny Vhee Fernandez and Neizelino Fernandez from the ballot.
In a phone interview with INQUIRER.net, Ragaza said Jenny Vhee also declared her nickname as “Dana” while Neizelino declared “Da Boy,” which could be confused with the lawmaker’s first name.
Radovan said their declared names “practically sow confusion to the voters.”
“The prayer, of course, is to cancel the certificate of candidacy of these two impostors and declare them as nuisance candidates,” Radovan said in an interview.
READ: Filing of petition against nuisance candidates extended until Oct 16
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Section 69 of the Omnibus Election Code states that a nuisance candidate is a person who sought to cause confusion among voters by the similarity of their names, among other reasons.
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“Ito ay matagal nang gimik ng mga operador sa eleksyon every now and then,” Radovan also said.
(This has long been a tactic used by election operators every now and then.)
Fernandez is competing for the gubernatorial post of Laguna against former journalist Sol Aragones, Vice Gov. Karen Agapay, and Rep. Ruth Hernandez, wife of the incumbent Gov. Ramil Hernandez.
READ: Duterte administration ills still affect the country – Fernandez
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