The National Confederation of Labor files a petition on Thursday, December 12, 2024, before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to suspend the printing of ballots for the 2025 polls. NCL spokesperson Ernesto Arellano, a senatorial aspirant, holds up a copy of the petition. —Photo by Dianne Sampang | INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Confederation of Labor (NCL) filed on Thursday a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to suspend the printing of the ballots for the 2025 elections.
According to senatorial aspirant Ernesto Arellano, spokesperson of the labor group, the suspension will allow the Comelec to investigate and assess the qualifications of all of the certificates of candidacy (COC).
“We are asking to suspend the printing of ballots for the midterm elections because we want to ensure that all those who will file their COCs will be qualified and will not be another case of Alice Guo,” he said in Filipino.
Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo sought and won a mayoral seat despite submitting alleged false information on her citizenship on her COC for the 2022 local elections.
The Comelec previously filed a material misrepresentation case against Guo, with its law department noting that Guo declared in her COC that she was a Filipino citizen and a resident of Bamban, Tarlac — “when in truth and in fact, she is not.”
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The NCL is requesting the Comelec to require additional documents for poll aspirants who will file their COCs.
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“That’s our recommendation — that all candidates that will file their COCs be required to submit certified a true copy of their birth certificates and a certification from the NBI that they don’t have a criminal record,” Arellano said.
Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia previously reiterated that the poll body’s duty was to accept COCs once they had verified the form to be complete.
However, he said that there should be additional requirements aside from the COC, but he noted that “the Comelec cannot add qualification to what is not provided for by the Constitution.”
READ: Comelec wants stricter rules on COC filing to avoid another Guo case
When asked to comment on the group’s petition, Garcia said that printing 73 million ballots would not be an easy task. He also mentioned that the printing of ballots would start on January 6, 2025, so that the Comelec could finish resolving cases filed.
“If we rush, some respondents may say that the reason we are rushing is because we want to start printing the ballots right away. So what we did, the final decision is on January 6, at all costs. At least, the Comelec will have enough time to resolve all the pending cases,” Garcia said in Filipino in a separate ambush interview.
Garcia previously said that the Comelec was eyeing to print the ballots by December 2024 in line with its commitment to finish resolving cases of nuisance candidates. He said all of the 117 cases of nuisance candidates for national posts and almost 80 percent for local posts had already been resolved.
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“About the matter of not including the names of candidates and suspending the printing of ballots, it can’t happen if there is no case or petition filed against a candidate. So why are we going to stop our preparation?” he added.