ARGUMENTS AGAINST COMELEC DISQUALIFICATIONN OF DPP CANDIDATES

A. To Vote and Be Voted Upon – It is the inherent right, inscribed in the Bill of Rights of the Philippine Constitution, that everyone is entitled to the right of suffrage – the right to vote and the right to be voted upon. COMELEC seems to forget this very noble provision which constitutes the reason for our being, that of being a member of a society of humans who relate, interact and communicate with each other under a just, organized and peaceful atmosphere. That our Philippine Constitution contains this provision is a recognition of the highest appreciation and regard for the humanity of all Filipino citizens, men and women, young and elderly, regardless of sex, age, and beliefs. B. Blurred COMELEC Reasons for Rejection of Candidacy. In its Resolution, the COMELEC did not mention anything in the Resolution why this Petitioner’s candidacy was rejected but instead showed in a nebulous manner how the other candidates’ records were worthwhile approving and disapproving. In other words, the COMELEC was not concrete specifically as to why it was rejecting the certificate of candidacy of the Petitioner. C. On the Matter of Conducting a Campaign Nationwide. The COMELEC had insinuated in the Resolution that the Petitioner could not conduct a campaign nationwide. On the contrary, the Petitioner will be able to conduct her campaign nationally as she is allied with various groups that are members of the Democratic Party of the Philippines (DPP) now awaiting accreditation. These groups have memberships that run into hundreds of thousands, and even over a million as in the case of the urban poor associations, rural women’s organization, agrarian reform beneficiaries and the indigenous peoples groups. Even if the DPP is not accredited, these organizations would still be active in participating in the elections as voters. Moreover, the women’s movement composed of various women’s groups all over the country can be counted upon to deliver the women’s vote, in particular, back the Petitioner’s candidacy as she has been consistently writing about women’s situation and initiating activities to bring attention to it. Lastly, the Petitioner is a noted mass media practitioner whether on print, radio or Television as she has been consistently practicing her craft, especially after having been a columnist for several years of broadsheets of national circulation. Her critical articles have brought to the fore issues that could otherwise have been covered up in order to sustain iniquitous situations. Thus, the political and educational track records of the Petitioner are national and international in scope and deal with the different issues of human rights in the country and the world. Such are necessary for someone aspiring to be a senator whose work encompasses dealing with the nitty-gritty details of addressing the problems of the people and Philippine contribution to human rights peace. and the country apart from applying or formulating legislations that would solve them; D. Lack of Justness of COMELEC Decision. The COMELEC is an institution not regarded generally as just and fair in making decisions where candidates are concerned. For example, it approved the candidacy of Nicanor Perlas and Jamby Madrigal as independent presidential candidates who do not belong to any party. By doing so, it simply relied on the strength of popularity of the two people to launch their campaigns. In this regard, the COMELEC becomes biased and parochial in its approach to the tasks of facilitating the conduct of elections, which should not be the case. On the contrary, seeking any elective position is not a popularity contest but rather a competition for principled candidates with the best minds and experiences to tackle the problems of the country, whether locally, nationally and even internationally. E. COMELEC Publicity Duty. The COMELEC forgets also that it carries the burden of informing the public about the candidates under Republic Act No. 9006, an “Act to Enhance the Holding of Free, Orderly, Honest, Peaceful and Credible Elections Through Fair Election Practices,” which emphasizes in Sec. 6. Equal Access to Media Time and Space: “In all instances, the COMELEC shall supervise the use and employment of press, radio and television facilities insofar as the placement of political advertisements is concerned to ensure that candidates are given equal opportunities under equal circumstances to make known their qualifications and their stand on public issues within the limits set forth in the Omnibus Election Code and Republic Act No. 7166 on election spending. The COMELEC shall ensure that radio or television or cable television broadcasting entities shall not allow the scheduling of any program or permit any sponsor to manifestly favor or oppose any candidate or political party by unduly or repeatedly referring to or including said candidate and/or political party in such program respecting, however, in all instances the right of said broadcast entities to air accounts of significant news or news worthy events and views on matters of public interest….” In other words, the COMELEC is duty-bound to help protect the integrity of the elections by insuring fair coverage of all candidates so that the people can make an informed choice. F. COMELEC Sabotage of Raison d’Etre. Presently, the COMELEC has reneged on its duties as it has allowed the sabotage of its Constitutional raison d’etre of being an impartial institution to carry out suffrage duties. Unfortunately, the current propaganda battles being waged over radio-TV-print and tarpaulins show that the COMELEC has ceased to carry out its policing functions as various candidates promote themselves despite the fact that the period for political campaigning has not started yet. Because of this, the others who choose to abide by the rules are being sidelined and losing out this early in the propaganda battles. G. COMELEC Use of Nuisance as a Term. The COMELEC uses the word “nuisance” to refer to those whose candidacies have been denied. This word is not appropriate for use in the case of the candidates. Historically, COMELEC use is carried over from a mindset influenced by the colonial masters who had looked down upon the Filipino people as lowly and not equal to them and who then used the term in formulating the COMELEC laws. On the contrary, the COMELEC should treat any one aspiring for political positions as humanely as possible. Filing a certificate of candidacy should always be presupposed as a noble attempt to exercise one’s duties as a loyal patriotic citizen of this country: “Ang maging kandidato at maging opisyal ay isang karapatan, isang tungkulin, at higit sa lahat, isang karangalan.” -- Orozco It is only the COMELEC that brings down the image of the candidates by its convoluted reasoning and unfair judgment of candidates. Respect of that human right to serve the country through participation in the electoral processes – that of voting and being voted for – should be respected through all the stages of the election process. It is low politics to engage in such and dismiss the COCs of many candidates who could have built their reputation as experts in their fields of endeavor and whose only “flaw” had been to deal with this aberrant institution. It can also be argued that the use of the word “nuisance” brings down the level of debate to ad hominem argumentation used by lowly debaters once they run out of verbal or written defenses. A Constitutional body as the COMELEC must rise from this level of low argumentation and delete that word from its vocabulary because otherwise, the candidates could hurl many other worse epithets at its officials for misjudgment of their COCs. H. Lack of Appreciation of Women Candidates –COMELEC has been a block to women’s emancipation in the country. In the highest echelons of political power, it has consistently approved more male rather than female candidates thus ensuring the marginalization of women on political matters. Because of this, many women feel intimidated to present themselves as candidates, much more so, as equal to men in terms of credibility, honesty and qualifications in occupying posts. Moreover, the ascendancy into power of a corrupt and vote-grabber female official whose dubious election was ratified by the COMELEC has further given the impression of that “justified” exclusion of women from public participation. I. COMELEC Lack of Historical Responsibility. The actions of the COMELEC with regard to the COC of this Petitioner and all other qualified but rejected candidates could be summarized only under one phrase: a grave lack of sense of historical responsibility. The current state of the country, and its worst problem, that of sending its own citizens to look for jobs abroad despite the fact that the country is rich in natural resources and has a warm citizenry almost always open to friendships and long lasting relationships with abilities to perform at par with international achievers, should be traced to COMELEC actions itself. It has been instrumental in the putting up of scalawags, and political gangsters in the bureaucracy who have been elected and when seated in their posts, had made appointments and carried out programs and projects that only serve their pockets, those of their families’, and their cohorts. In other words, COMELEC carries the blame on the degrading state of the country for not having created an environment for the pristine exercise of political suffrage, for not having allowed the people to exercise their best judgment in choosing the right ethical people for the right positions that could address the peoples’ problems thereby bringing their lives to a prosperous and humane state. In other words, the COMELEC is culpable for having been a tool for oppression and exploitation of the country and the people. Being lodged with the power to approve the candidates that could run for sensitive and elective positions, it has put itself up as a kind of god to be cajoled and pleaded to in approving what otherwise are just a simple exercise of human rights of suffrage. Moreover it has become an agent for the consistent and systematic exploitation of the electoral systems in order that political gangsters could rule without critical thoughts attacking them and acts being raised against them. J. COMELEC Lack of Patriotism. All these show that the COMELEC officials do not really love the country. They do not show an ounce of valuation for the right, honest, dedicated and qualified people who love the country and the people to ascend into political power. Hence, it is time to reverse the situation and make the COMELEC do its proper functions of ensuring that the right men and women are elected into posts, both national and local.