House okays bill punishing nuisance candidacy

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the bill that seeks to make nuisance candidacy an election offense.

House Bill 11317 got the vote of 193 lawmakers on Monday evening during plenary session. Four voted in the negative. There was no abstention.

Under the bill, anyone found guilty of the prohibited acts under Section 261 (cc) (7) of Batas Pambansa 881 or the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines shall pay a fine of P500,000 to the Commission on Elections.

If the bill is passed into law, filing a CoC to «obtain money, profit, or any other consideration» will be included as a prohibited act under Section 261 (cc) (7) and as a ground to cancel a CoC.

Currently, filing a CoC to «put the election process in mockery or disrepute» is prohibited.

Filing a CoC to «maliciously or deliberately cause confusion among the voters by similarity of the names of the registered candidates» is also prohibited.

Under Batas Pambansa 881, the Comelec may cancel a CoC if there are «other circumstances or acts 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.»