MANILA, Philippines – The standard-bearer of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) has petitioned the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to disqualify his namesake, presidential candidate Manuel Antonio Roxas, from the 2016 polls.
In a 9-page petition, LP presidential candidate Manuel “Mar” Araneta Roxas II requested the Comelec to declare Manuel Antonio Roxas a nuisance bet.
For one, Roxas pointed out that Manuel Araneta Roxas, in his COC, used the nickname “Manny Mar Roxas.”
“Clearly, by claiming that his stage name or nickname is ‘Manny Mar Roxas,’ respondent Manuel Antonio Roxas intends to confuse the public into believing that he and petitioner Manuel Araneta Roxas are one and the same person,” Roxas’ lawyer Maria Bernadette Sardillo said in a petition dated Tuesday, October 20.
Sardillo also said entries in Manuel Antonio Roxas’ COC “render suspect his intention to run as a legitimate candidate for president.”
One of the suspicious entries is Manuel Antonio Roxas’ address – just “5 Diamond St, QC.”
Another is his “address for election purposes.” In this part of his COC, Manuel Antonio Roxas wrote, “For President of the Philippines.”
Moving to disqualify 125
Manuel Antonio Roxas also misspelled his name as “Mannuel” in one of the entries.
“Finally, without casting aspersions on respondent Manuel Antonio Roxas, the manner by which his certificate of candidacy has been filled out, and his appropriation of the nickname of petitioner Manuel Araneta Roxas, show that he has no bona fide intention to run for president,” Sardillo said.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, a nuisance bet is, among others, a candidate who files a COC “to cause confusion among voters by the similarity of the names of the registered candidates.”
A record-high of 130 people filed COCs for president from October 12 to 16.
On Wednesday, however, the Comelec law department moved to disqualify 125 of them, or around 96%, as nuisance bets.
The Comelec is set to subject these candidates to hearings before their fate can be sealed. – Rappler.com