Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Intramuros, Manila

RULES ON DISQUALIFICATION Jose A. R. Melo Chairman

CASES FILED I N CONNECTION Rene V. Sarmiento Commissioner
WITH THE MAY 10, 2010 Nicodemo T. Ferrer
AUTOMATED NATIONAL AND Lucenito N. Tagle C o m m i s s i or ~
Commission
LOCAL ELECTIONS. Armando C. Velasco Commission r
. Elias R. Yusoph ~ommissio$r
Gregorio Y. Larrazabal Commissi
1wer

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 sub-
paragraph 6 of the OEC,
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 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 d i s q ~ ~ a l i f ya candidate for lack of

ciualificati~r.~ or yosseszifig some . grounds for
clizqualificatior--~,sha!! be filed ir! ten (:!G) legible copies,
c?t-
f?er~r:!nnllj~ t./>i.'i?~.iCj/7 s rj{.~J:; a ~ ~ t I ? ~ r j zrepl.eserjl-ative,
ed by
ar?y persurl (21: \.:c>tir-)gage, [:)I.' d t i l ~reqistereci p ~ l i t i c a party,
i
oi-gariizatior! ~7). ~03liti!:!!-:j~ 1 7 , f p::i!itica! pat-ties on FFte ~ r c t u n t l
that the candidate does not: possess all ti.!? qualifications
3s ~.'r-o~;ir-leclf ~ t - b'v. tF~ei,7or:stitutio~ i2r by ~-x;:jstingla\j\: 01-
! pOSSeS.5;eS pi-nf- g i - o ~ ~ n d sf o r di.sq~~alificatic,nas
fclr- by the Ccr~stitutionor by exist:ing law.
p!-ovicl~d

'!.. Fetitir:lner shal!, before t-h? t'iliilg ?(, t17e pei:ition,, furnish a
copy of the petitioi-! thrnugh ~:jersonz[ se!-;ice, to the
~ t ,case pet-~ona!sr-rvi(seis
~ e s p v r ! d e ~ , JIK fea~ii:)l~': th.5
r-ccpc!r~dent r ~ f u c ~ : ;tc~ rece!\,/e t petiti~:'!n or the
~t'.; cannot L
r e s p ~ ~ ~ ~ l e r \i'~hereabi7~!ts ascertained, the
petitior~erstla!! exec1~t:e an aRida\:it stating t!?e reasons or
!:ircu:.~i$tances the!-efr?re;

- . -1-he pi..c~of~f :;?I-vice

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

3 , IJpon 13ayrnent: of the f i l i i ? ~ fee of PltFS,@00.00 a i ~ dlegal

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 i ~ i ~ he
~ fconsecutive
: accot-ding t o
the or-der of receipt, a ~ must
d bear t h e year and prefixed
. .
as SP.4 (DC);
!?
&-'
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;
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 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, Vice-
President, Senator and Party-List, on the following grounds:

a) Candidates who, on the face of their certificates of candidacy

or, in the case of party-list groups - manifestation of intent
to participate in the party-list system of representation - do
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 - manifestation
of intent to participate in the 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, Vice-

President, 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, shall be published in two (2) newspapers of general
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
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.6. Promulgation. - The promulgation of a Decision or Resolution

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.
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 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.

hairman

NICO
Commission Com
Y'ssioner