Comelec wants stricter rules on COC filing to avoid another Guo case

Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo (left) and Comelec chairman George Garcia (right) during the resumption of a Senate panel’s probe into Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) on May 22, 2024. Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia on Friday said stricter rules on certificate of candidacy (COC) filing would help prevent material misrepresentation cases like what happened to dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo (real name: Guo Hua Ping).

This was his answer when asked what the Comelec would do to prevent the repeat of Guo’s case.

READ: Comelec issues subpoena vs Alice Guo for material misrepresentation

“Sana po may pagbabago sa batas natin at bigyan ng discretion ang Comelec sa pagtanggap o di pagtanggap ng certificate of candidacy. ‘Yan po ang present state of things when it comes to the filing of the COC,” he said.

(I hope our laws will be amended and let the Comelec have discretion in accepting certificates of candidacy. That is the present state of things when it comes to the filing of COC.)

For former senator Joey Lina, “the solution lies with Congress to enact a law that will make it difficult or impossible for any impostor [to assume] Filipino citizenship.”

This was seconded by Garcia. He said there should be additional requirements aside from the COC, but “the Comelec cannot add qualification to what is not provided for by the Constitution.”

“Ang aming duty, ministerial lang. Amin pong titignan kung kumpleto ba lahat ng mga dapat na i-accomplish na form ng COC… Kapag nakumpleto, tatanggapin po namin. We have no right to refuse the filing of the acceptance of the COC,” he added.

(Our duty is only ministerial. We will check if they completed the COC form… If it is complete, then we will accept.)

However, Garcia said the poll body can still accept the COCs of filers who have pending disqualification cases at the Office of the Ombudsman.

READ: Ombudsman orders dismissal of Alice Guo over Pogo links

“Kung ang isang tao ay perpetually disqualified to hold public office base sa desisyon ng Office of the Ombudsman pero tatanggapin pa rin namin ang COC. Kung makakatakbo lang, ‘yan ang aming pagdedesisyunan,” he explained.

(If a person is perpetually disqualified to hold public office based on the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman, we will still accept the COC. We will decide if that person can run for the elections.)

Garcia also admitted that there were many cases where candidates still got to run for public office despite submitting false information on their COCs.

In August, Comelec issued a subpoena against Guo for alleged material misrepresentation in her COC in the 2022 elections. This came after the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the fingerprints of the former mayor in Comelec’s voting records and the fingerprints of a Chinese woman named Guo Hua Ping at the NBI matched.

Comelec explained that it was not their fault that Guo assumed public office despite questions on her citizenship because their only role was to accept her COC and that no one filed a petition to cancel her candidacy.

“Dapat may nag-file ng isang petition. Kung may nag-file, naaksyunan po sana namin. Kaya nung naging mabigat na issue, ang sabi po namin, nung na-proclaim po siya, wala na pong power ang Comelec,” he explained.

(There should be a petition filed. If there was a petition, we would have acted on it. That’s why when the issue was getting big, what we said was when she was proclaimed, the Comelec no longer had any power.)

“Once proclaimed na ang isang kandidato, the power of the Comelec will vanish and therefore pag naproklama at may nagkwestyon ay dapat ibang ahensya ng pamahalaan,” he added.

(Once a candidate is proclaimed [a winner], the power of the Comelec will vanish and therefore, if they are proclaimed and someone questions it, another government agency should handle it.)

Garcia: Citizens can file petition to cancel COC

Garcia also said citizens can help prevent misrepresentation cases by filing a petition to cancel an aspirant’s COC.

Under Rule 23 of Comelec’s Resolution No. 9523, a registered voter or a duly registered political party can file a petition to deny or cancel a COC “on the exclusive ground that any material representation contained therein as required by law is false.”

Garcia said the petition must be filed no later than 25 days after the aspirant filed their COC. Otherwise, the case will be filed for “lack of jurisdiction.”

The Comelec publishes the COCs on its website so that voters can check if a candidate has a questionable identity or background. If there is an issue, the poll body will decide on it, Garcia added.

The COC filing for candidates in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was moved to November 4-9 after the Supreme Court ruled that the Sulu province is no longer part of the region, while filing for the rest of the country will run from October 1-8.