Republic of the Philippines COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS Intramuros, Manila

RULES ON DISQUALIFICATION CASES FILED I N CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 10, 2010 AUTOMATED NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTIONS. Jose A. R. Melo Rene V. Sarmiento Nicodemo T. Ferrer Lucenito N. Tagle Armando C. Velasco . Elias R. Yusoph Gregorio Y. Larrazabal

Chairman Commissioner Commiss r Commissioni o ~ Commission r ~ommissio$r Commissi

1

wer

RESOLUTION NO. 8 6 9 6 , ~

The Commission on Elections, by virtue of the powers vested in it by the Constitution, the Omnibus ' ~ l e c t i o n Code and other election laws,
RESOLVED to promulgate, as it hereby RESOLVES to prescribe the

following rules of procedure concerning the filing of the following petitions for purposes of the May 10, 2010 national and local elections: a) Petition to Deny Due Course to or Cancel Certificate of Candidacy; b) Petition To Declare A Candidate As Nuisance Candidate;
c) Petition To Disqualify A Candidate Pursuant to Sec. 68 of the

Omnibus Election Code; and

d) Petition To

is qualify A Candidate for Lack of Qualifications or

Possessing Some Grounds For Disqualification,

SECTION 1.Suspension of the Comelec Rules of Procedures.

- In

the interest of justice and in order to attain speedy disposition of cases, the application of the Comelec Rules of Procedure or any portion thereof inconsistent herewith is hereby

SEC. 2 .

Where t o file petitions. - The petitions herein mentioned

shall be filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission, Commission on Elections, in Manila. Petitions for disqualification filed with offices other than with the Office of the Clerk of the Commission shall' not be accepted.
SEC. 3. Petitions filed through mail or not in accordance with

rules; Effect. - Petitions filed through mail and/or not in accordance with

the herein rules shall not be accepted or docketed. However, petitioner may re-file the petition in accordance with the herein rules and before the lapse of the reglementary period provided for the filing for each petition.

SEC.4. Procedure in filing petitions.- For purposes of the preceding

sections, the following procedure shall be observed :

A. PETITION TO DENY DUE COURSE TO OR CANCEL CERTIFICATE OF CANDIDACY

1 A verified petition to deny due course or to cancel .

certificate of candidacy may be filed by any person within five (5) days from the last day for the filing of certificate of candidacy but not later than twenty-five (25) days from the filing of certificate of candidacy under Section 78 of the Omnibus Election Code (OEC);
2. The petition shall be filed in ten (10) legible copies,

personally or through a duly authorized representative, by any :person of voting age or a duly registered political party, organization, or coalition of political parties exclusively on the ground that any material representation contained therein as required under Section 74 of the OEC is false.,

3. P E T I T I O N TO DECLARE A NUISANCE CANDIDATE

1. A verified petition to declare a duly registered candidate as

a nuisance candidate under Section 69 of the OEC, as amended by Section 5 of R.A. 6646, must be filed within five (5) days from the last day for the filing of certificates of candidacy;
2. The petition shall be filed in ten (10) legible copies

personally or through a duly authorized representative, by any candidate for the same office on the following grounds: 2.1. The certificate of candidacy has been filed to put the election process in mockery or disrepute;
2.2.

The certificate of candidacy causes confusion among voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates;

2.3.

By other acts or circumstances which clearly demonstrate that the candidate has no bona
fide intention to run for the office for which the

certificate of candidacy has been filed and thus prevent the faithful determination of the true will of the electorate.
B. PETITION TO DISOUALIFY A CANDIDATE PURSUANT TO

SECTION 68 OF THE OMNIBUS ELECTION CODE AND PETITION TO DISOUALIFY FOR LACK OF OUALIFICATIONS OR POSSESSING SOME GROUNDS FOR

1. A verified petition to disqualify a candidate pursuant to

Section 68 of the OEC and the verified petition to disqualify a candidate for lack of qualifications or possessing some grounds for disqualification may be filed on any day after the last day for filing of certificates of candidacy but not later than the date of proclamation;

2. The petition t o disqualify a candidate pursuant to Section 68 of the OEC shall be filed in ten (10) legible copies, personally or through a duly authorized representative, by any citizen of voting age, or duly registered political party, organization or coalition of political parties against any candidate who, in an action or protest in which he is a party, is declared by final decision of a competent court, guilty of, or found by the Commission of, having:
2.1.

Given money or other material consideration to influence, induce or corrupt voters or public officials performing electoral functions;

2.2.

Committed acts of terrorism to enhance his candidacy; or

2.3.

Spent in his election campaign an amount in excess of that allowed by law; or

2.4.

Solicited, received or made any contribution prohibited under Sections 89, 95, 96, 97 and

104 of the OEC; or

2.5.

Violated any of Sections 80, 83, 85, 86 and 261 paragraphs dl el k and v and cc subparagraph 6 of the OEC,

shall be disqualified from continuing as a candidate, or if

he has been electecl, from holding the office,

3 . T t ~ e petition t o
ciualificati~r.~

disq~~alify a

candidate

for

lack of
for

or

yosseszifig

some . grounds

clizqualificatior--~, sha!! be filed ir! ten

(:!G) legible copies,

f?er~r:!nnllj~ c?t-

t./>i.'i?~.iCj/7

s rj{.~J:; a ~ ~ t I ? ~ r j z e d repl.eserjl-ative, by
[:)I.'

ar?y persurl
oi-gariizatior!

(21:

\.:c>tir-)g age,

dtil~ reqistereci p ~ l i t i c a party, i

~7).

~03liti!:!!-:j 1 7 , f p::i!itica! pat-ties on FFte ~ r c t u n t l ~

b'v. tF~ei,7or:stitutio~ i2r by ~-x;:jsting la\j\: 01pi-nf- g i - o ~ ~ n d so r f

that the candidate does not: possess all ti.!? qualifications

3s ~.'r-o~;ir-leclf
~ t -

pOSSeS.5;eS

di.sq~~alificatic,n as

p!-ovicl~d by the Ccr~stitution by exist:ing law. fclror

'!.. Fetitir:lner shal!,

before t-h? t'iliilg ? t17e pei:ition,, furnish a ( ,

copy of the petitioi-! thrnugh ~:jersonz[ se!-;ice, ~ e s p v r ! d e ~ , JIK ,case pet-~ona! ~t sr-rvi(seis r-ccpc!r~dent r ~ f u c ~ : ;tc~ rece!\,/e
t

to the
the
the

fea~ii:)l~': th.5

petiti~:'!n or ascertained,

r e s p ~ ~ ~ ~ l e r \i'~hereabi7~!ts ~t'.; cannot L

petitior~er stla!! exec1~t:e an aRida\:it stating t!?e reasons or

!:ircu:.~i$tances the!-efr?re;
;:. -1-he pi..c~of :;?I-vice -. ~f

or- the affidavit shall be attached t u t i e petiti01-1 be ii!ed v.!ith the Oftice of' the Clerk of t h e tc!

Cornn~issicr~;
3 , IJpon 13ayrnent: of the
f i l i i ? ~ fee

of PltFS,@00.00 a i ~ d legal

I-esearrh fee of Php50.00, the Office of the Clerk cf the

Cornn'iissiun sha;l ciocket the petition and assign to it a

docket. number, which as SP.4 (DC);

i ~ i ~ he fconsecutive ~ :
. .

accot-ding t o

the or-der of receipt, a ~ must bear t h e year and prefixed d

&-'

!?

4.

No petition shall be docketed unless the requirements in the preceding paragraphs have been complied with;

5. Upon proper filing and docketing of the petition, the Office

of the Clerk of the Commission shall, within three (3) calendar days, issue summons with notice of hearing through personal service or telegram, facsimile or through the most fastest means of communication, to the respondent and notice of hearing to the petitioner;
6. Within three (3) calendar days from receipt of summons,

the respondent shall, personally or through his authorized representative, file his verified answer (not a Motion to Dismiss) to the petition, at the Office of the Clerk of the Comniission, in ten (10) legible copies, with proof of personal service of Answer upon the petitioner. Grounds for Motion to Dismiss may be raised as an Affirmative Defense;
7. The proceeding shall be sumlnal-y in nature. I n lieu of oral

testimonies, the parties chall submit the affidal~itsof their witnesses and other documentary evidence together with their position papers or memoranda. The position paper or memoranda of each party shall contain the following:
7.1. A "Statement of the Case", which is a clear and

concise statement of the nature of the action, a summary of the docclmentary evidence, and other matters -necessary to an understanding of the controversy;

7.2.

A "Statement of the Issues", which is a clear

and concise statement of the issues; 7.3. The "Argument", which is a clear and concise presentation of the argument in support of each issue; and
7.4.

The "Relief",

which is a specification of the

judgment which the party seeks to obtain. Issues raised in the pleadings that are not included in the memorandum shall be deemed waived or abandoned. The Commission may consider the memorandum alone in deciding or resolving the petition, as said memorandum is a summation of the parties' pleadings and documentary evidence.

SEC. 5. Motu Proprio Cases.

- The Commission may, at any time

before the election, motu proprio refuse to give due course to or cancel any certificate of candidacy of any candidate for the positions of President, VicePresident, Senator and Party-List, on the following grounds: a) Candidates who, on the face of their certificates of candidacy

- manifestation of intent to participate in the party-list system of representation - do

or, in the case of party-list groups not possess the constitutional and legal qualifications of the office to which they aspire to be elected; b) Candidates or party-list group who, on the face of said certificates or in the case of party-list groups of intent to participate in the

- manifestation

party-list system of

representation - filed their certificates or manifestation to put the election process i n mockery or disrepute;/

c) Candidates whose certificates of candidacy or

party-list

groups whose manifestation could cause confusion among the voters by the similarity of names and surnames with other registered candidates or by the similarity of their party-list name or acronym; and d) Candidates or party-list groups who have no bona fide intention to run for the office for which the certificate of candidacy or manifestation had been filed or acts that clearly demonstrate the lack of such bona fide intention, such as: d.1. Candidates who do not belong to or are not nominated by any registered political party or national constituency; d.2. Candidates who do not have a platform of government and are not capable of waging a nationwide campaign. Upon receipt of the certificates of candidacy for President, VicePresident, Senator, or upon receipt of the manifestation of intent to participate for the and party-~ist,the Law Department shall, within five (5) days from the last day for filing certificate of candidacy and manifestation, forward to the Commission en banc through the Office of the Commission Secretary, the certificates of candidacy and manifestation, together with its study and recommendation; The Commission Secretary shall upon receipt thereof, immediately calendar for deliberation the certificates of candidacy and manifestation together with the study and recommendation of the Law Department with notice to all members of the Commission. Within three (3) days from the date of the deliberation, the

Commission shall resolve all matters relative to the certificates of candidacy 'and manifestation submitted to it.\

The Resolution denying due course or canceling the certificate of candidacy of candidates for President, Vice-President and Senator, or manifestation, circulation. Any candidate whose certificate of candidacy or any party-list group whose manifestation has been adversely affected may, personally or through a duly authorized representative, file a verified opposition thereto, in ten
(10) legible copies, within five (5) days from the date of publication, with the

shall be published in two (2)

newspapers of general

Office of the Clerk of the Commission, which shall assign a docket number which must be consecutive according to the order of receipt and must bear the year and prefixed as SPA (MP); The Clerk of the Commission shall set the opposition for hearing within three (3) days from receipt thereof. Within two (2) days after the hearing, the Clerk of the Commission shall calendar the Opposition for consultation and thereafter, the member to whom the case is assigned shall pen the decision within five (5) days from the date of consultation.

SEC. Promulgation. - The promulgation of a Decision or Resolution 6.

of the Commission or a Division shall be made on a date previously fixed, notice of which shall be sewed in advance upon the parties or their attorneys personally, or by registered mail, telegram, fax or thru the fastest means of communication.
SEC. 7. Motion for reconsideration. - A motion to reconsider a

Decision, Resolution, Order or Ruling of a Division shall be filed within three

(3) days from the promulgation thereof.

Such motion, if not pro-forma,

suspends the execution for implementation of the Decision, Resolution, Order or Ruling. Within twenty-four (24) hours from the filing thereof, the Clerk of the Commission shall notify the Presiding Commissioner. The latter shall within two (2) days thereafter certify the case to the Commission en banc.

vd

The

Clerk

of

the

Commission shall

calendar

the

Motion for

Reconsideration for the resolution of the Commission en banc within three

(3) days from the certification thereof.

SEC. 8. Effectivity.

- This Resolution shall take effect on the seventh

(7th) day after its publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general
circulation. The Education and Information Department, this Commission, shall cause the publication of this Resolution in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation.
SEC. 9. Dissemination.

- The Education and Information Department

of the Commission shall furnish copies of this Resolution to all field officials of the Commission, the political parties and accredited citizens' arm.

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