Comelec chair George Erwin Garcia. —Inquirer/Niño Jesus Orbeta
MANILA, Philippines — The names of candidates with perpetual disqualification to hold public office will be included in the list of aspirants for the 2025 elections amid the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court (SC), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday.
This is what Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said when he was asked if the TRO would affect the timeline of releasing a partial list of aspirants.
“Because of the temporary restraining order from the high court, that hundred will be included in the list… As of now, the Commission has no problem because we will just include their names in the list as if they are not perpetually disqualified to hold public office,” Garcia said in an ambush interview.
READ: SC issues TRO vs Comelec resolution on dismissed public officials
Garcia said that there are about 100 certificates of candidacy (COCs) filers who are perpetually disqualified from holding office.
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READ: Comelec rule vs dismissed candidates with pending appeal questioned
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The SC issued a restraining order against Comelec Resolution No. 11044-A, which states that all COCs of public officials who are perpetually disqualified to hold public office will be denied by the poll body, despite a pending appeal.
Former Albay Gov. Noel Rosal filed the petition seeking to nullify Comelec’s resolution. The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Rosal in an administrative case with an accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
The poll body is given a non-extendible period of 10 days to submit their comment on the TRO. Garcia said that they will obey the order issued by the SC.
However, Garcia said that the names of those public officials will be removed from the list if the TRO was lifted before they start printing ballots.
“If the aspirants with perpetual disqualification to hold public office are included in the partial list of the candidates and the TRO is lifted before we print ballots, we will immediately remove their names,” Garcia noted.
The poll body chief also added that: “But if we already print ballots and the lifting of TRO comes after, their names will remain.”
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Further, Garcia pointed out that the release of the TRO was “timely” as the Commission was about to release a resolution removing from the list of aspirants those with perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
