Comelec declares 23 more Senate aspirants ‘nuisance’

By Ferdinand Patinio, Philippine News Agency

The latest batch of senatorial candidates declared as nuisance by the first division are Primo Puso Aquino, Berteni Causing, and Alice Jumalon. (Arianne Lacanilao/PCI Photo)

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Friday that 23 more individuals who filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for senator have been declared nuisance candidates.

This brought the number of nuisance senatorial candidates to 70 declared vetted by the poll body’s first and second divisions.

The latest batch of senatorial candidates declared as nuisance by the first division are Primo Puso Aquino, Berteni Causing, and Alice Jumalon.

Those declared by the second division were Miranda Cadion, Melissa Fortes, Deviendo Biazon, Epifanio Perez, Phil Delos Reyes, Luther Meniano, Najar Salih, Vicente Domingo, Roel Lamoste, Fernando Manlangit, Edgardo Duque, Subair Mustapha, Artemio Maquiso, Robert Tagean, Robert Agad, James Reyes Jr., Jaime Balmas, Jose Bunilla, Eulogio Partosa, and Bethsaida Lopez.

Last week, the poll body declared 47 senatorial aspirants as nuisance bets.

A total of 183 individuals filed their COCs for senator at the Manila Hotel Tent City in Manila from Oct. 1 to 8.

Of the number, 66 senatorial aspirants have been included in the partial/initial list of aspirants for the May 2025 midterm polls.

The remaining 117 COC filers, on the other hand, faced petitions to declare as nuisance candidates filed by the Comelec’s Law Department.

Bangsamoro polls

Meanwhile, the Comelec has officially received 111 COCs filed for parliamentary district representatives, and seven Manifestations of Intent to Participate (MIPs) for regional parliamentary political parties (RPPP) in connection with the May 12, 2025 Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliamentary Elections.

Of the 111 aspirants for parliamentary district representatives, 41 were from Lanao del Sur, 15 from Maguindanao del Norte, 15 from Maguindanao del Sur, 15 from Basilan, 10 from Tawi-Tawi, 10 from Cotabato City, and five from the Special Geographic Area in Cotabato.

The seven filed their MIPs along with their 279 nominees.

A total of 25 seats will be up for grabs for parliamentary district representatives, while 40 seats will be filled by regional parliamentary political parties.

The aspirants filed their COCs and MIPs before the poll body field offices in the Bangsamoro on Nov. 4-9.

Comelec chair George Garcia said the COCs and MIPs filed may be invalidated once the BARRM Parliamentary Elections (BPE) are postponed to May 11, 2026.

“In the event that there will be a law passed (deferring the BPE), we will have another round of filing of COCs (and MIPs),” Garcia said in a press briefing on Friday.

He said the documents may be validated depending on the would-be law if it will allow the COCs and MIPs to be filed for the rescheduled BPE.

“But, under ordinary circumstances, all filings for candidacy will be invalidated. Therefore, we should have a new COC (and MIP) filing,” he said.